A Fury in Orange and Silver
by Wolf1291
Summary: After Ahsoka had left the jedi order, her life was quickly losing much of its luster, and when it finally took a turn towards a darker side of her, a strange woman made an appearance, and will radically change the way our little orange Togruta is thinking about herself, the jedi and the force. A very ... kinky woman. Rated M because Ahsoka's being a very naughty girl in here.
1. Ch1 - Arkee

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.1: Arkee**

It's been weeks since she left … well basically everything behind her.

All she was, all she ever had known, she had thrown it all away. She had left the Jedi Order, she had left everybody she had cared about and she had left … _him_.

Ahsoka curled into a ball, tightly hugging a pillow. She missed her master. She missed teasing him and being teased by him. Heck, she even missed being called "Snips".

She buried her head in the pillow.

There was no going back, though, and neither would she want to. _They_ wouldn't trust her. _They_ couldn't be trusted. Only her master had ever trusted her and _they_ didn't trust him either. Stupid jedi. Stupid, arrogant jedi.

Anger swelled within her, and her jedi training alarmed her that she was not supposed to give in to that anger. But she was a jedi no longer, she was free to do what the jedi always preached and yet always forbid: she trusted her feelings.

 _Damn the jedi! May the force strangle them all!_

As she jumped up, the pillow she had so tightly hugged crushed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, where it remained as if held in place by nails. Ahsoka watched with sadistic pleasure how a mere thought of her mind ripped the pillow apart and sent feathers flying everywhere. She laughed as she commanded the force to rip the feathers into a thousand pieces each, then weakly sank back down onto the bed and began to sob. The single feather she had left intact landed in her lap. She carefully picked it up and kissed it as she laid down.

"Master", she whispered, closing her eyes.

She gently stroked the pristine feather with her thumb and pressed it close to her chest.

"Master", she mumbled again.

A divine smile crept across her lips and a single tear escaped her eye. For ever so brief a moment, the orange-skinned Togruta teen seemed perfectly at peace, then she sank into the comforting darkness of sleep.

* * *

A few hours later, Ahsoka awakened to a veritable mess.

Feathers! Feathers on the floor, feathers on the bed. Feathers covered her head and the clothes she had laid out for today – well, actually she had laid them out for _today_ a couple days back, but that hardly mattered, did it? Feathers everywhere!

No, it had not been a bad dream. She really had left.

She closed her eyes again and laid back down.

 _Enough!_

She kicked the blanket off with all her might, then jumped out of the bed herself. For weeks, now, she had done nothing but sleep, whine about her decision, and sleep some more. It was time she finally stopped and started doing something productive. But first … she needed some breakfast, as her growling stomach reminded her. She hadn't eaten for days, nor had she met people in quite a while and the loneliness was starting to affect her mind, slowly driving her towards insanity, so she decided to actually leave the room she had rented in this shabby little inn somewhere in the lower levels of Coruscant. Not much, but the best she could afford - for now.

Of course living in the lower levels meant there was danger everywhere and indeed, she had seen enough scum in her short stay to last her a lifetime. The food tasted as if a Bantha had farted it, the air was but one step short of toxic and she was convinced the liquid that passed as a drink, here, most semi-intelligent species wouldn't dare touch without gloves.

On the other hand, nobody would be looking for her here. And thanks to her knowledge in the force, it was child's play to get rid of the occasional drunk annoyance that wanted to talk – and quite possibly do more than talk – to her.

She sighed as she walked down the stairs and out of the inn. The possibility was quite high that she would have to get rid of one such annoyance prior to her breakfast.

Booze, spice, death sticks, the vast majority of people in this neighbourhood – if it could be called that – were constantly stoned on something and the local drug cartels made sure it stayed that way.

Something touched her butt, then started to rub it.

"My, you's a nice lil thing, ain'tcha?"

Ahsoka turned on her heels and slapped her assailant so hard he fell over.

"Go jump a building, Sleemo!" _,_ she shouted angrily, then turned again and stomped off and into the next place that could – with a lot of goodwill – be considered a diner.

 _Sheesh!_

She let herself drop onto a bench and exhaled.

 _Relax, Ahsoka. You're having breakfast – well, lunch actually, by the time of it – anyway, you're about to eat, and you're not going to let some deadbeat junkie prevent you from enjoying your bowl of whatever slop they consider edible, here._

To her surprise, whatever it was she was eating turned out to be rather delicious. Perhaps it was just because she was famished, but once you got past its appearance and accepted that the greenish slimy whatever was going to enter your mouth and creep down your throat, it wasn't too bad. She would definitely come back some other time and -

She bolted as the big something hit the road outside with a very loud, wet thump. It must have fallen from quite a height, for the something that might well have been a humanoid being once was now an unrecognisable heap of meat.

Nothing out of the ordinary, really, every then and now a victim of some "accident" would fall all the way down to the lower levels of Coruscant. Ahsoka knew that. And yet she stood there and quivered as the blood left her face.

 _Why here? Why today? Why now? It couldn't be. It simply couldn't._

Her eyes moved frantically, desperately searching for something that would disprove her fear.

 _Please. Please, no! No! Please don't let this be true!_

Ahsoka didn't know whom she was pleading to. She just stood there, screaming in silence. Praying to an unknown deity that would release her from this nightmare.

She recognised the jacket the bloody something was wearing. The drunk lecher from before had been wearing something similar. Something _very_ similar. But that couldn't be. She hadn't used the force. She didn't make him leap to his death. She didn't kill him. She didn't want to kill him. She … did she?

With the last bit of control she had over her mind, Ahsoka threw a few credits on the table, then she ran out of the diner. Out into the streets. Away! That's all she wanted, just away. Left? Right? Didn't matter, was all the same. Just run! Fly! Flee!

She ran until her heart and lungs reached their utmost limit and a heavy pain in her chest forced her to slow down and stop. In a back alley, she leaned against a wall and sank down to the ground.

How long had she been running? Where was she? And what the heck was she going to do? She didn't know. She didn't care. Right now, she had to concentrate on breathing or she was convinced she would suffocate.

Her respite should only last so long. A hooded figure walked into the back alley and towards her. _Straight_ towards her. Ahsoka forced herself up and onto her feet.

"Ahsoka Tano?", the hooded guy asked.

"No!", she almost screamed. "Wait! I didn't do anything! I didn't mean for anything to happen! I -"

He was not going to believe her. Just like nobody had been believing her during that bombing incident. Only this time, their accusations could well be justified. She didn't even know, herself, what she had or hadn't done.

"Stay away from me!"

She slowly backed away but the stranger did not react to her words at all.

"Stay the fuck away!"

Ahsoka lifted a garbage bin with the force and threw it at the stranger who was neither surprised by what he had just seen nor made he any attempt to change his course. Without slowing down, he sidestepped the projectile that would have killed him, had it hit, and closed in on the frightened Togruta girl who was stumbling backwards.

Ahsoka wheeled around to run but bumped into another hooded guy who must have been standing behind her. Why had she not felt him in the force? Who were they? What..?

Without saying anything, the second guy pressed a stunner into her belly and but fractions of a moment later, thousands of volts rendered her unconscious.

* * *

Ahsoka awoke in a bright room. It must have been night, by now, for a look through the window – well, actually the entire wall to her right was a single large window – revealed a city wrapped in darkness yet gleaming with a myriads of lights. Despite her circumstances, Ahsoka couldn't help but admire the sight.

 _Beautiful._

But the sight also revealed that she had been moved quite a height, as from wherever she was, she could overlook a large part of the city. Whoever owned this place wasn't poor.

She looked up. There wasn't a single lamp. Instead, a sophisticated glowing pattern covered the ceiling and part of the walls. She followed strings of the pattern for a while then forced herself to stop looking at it and turned her head left.

An exquisite greyish carpet extended through all of the otherwise white room. In the middle of the room, there was a small table with two comfortable-looking sofas.

At the back of the room, there was a door on each of the walls.

Some strange tall plants of red and blue colours and a couple large paintings were all that decorated the place. Ahsoka liked it. Simple. Bright.

As for herself, she was spreadeagled on top of what seemed to be a table of some sorts and tied down at her wrists and ankles with a soft rope that – surprisingly – held her quite tightly and didn't budge an inch when she tugged on it. Pulling wouldn't break this rope.

Ahsoka looked down on herself and found that her clothes had changed. Instead of her usual red gown, she was now wearing what appeared to be a long white and very soft … bath robe?

That was absurd. It's true, she hadn't exactly showered the past couple days as she had been too busy with grieving her walking away from the jedi but certainly, she wasn't abducted just to be bathed? And she had been washed, as her happily tingling skin told her.

She enjoyed the thought that her captor could be some old lady that would come in and nag about how it was important to bathe regularly and that she was very disappointed in how she had let herself go and blah, blah, blah.

She chuckled, but only briefly. Then she blushed as it hit her that whoever bathed her must also have undressed her and seen _all_ of her. Ahsoka shook her head. Why was she worrying about what had happened when the fact that she was tied to a table and what might come next should worry her more?

 _Keep your mind here and now, where it belongs, Ahsoka_ , she reminded herself, then pulled again at the ropes.

 _You're so soft, why won't you break, damnit?_

After a while, she stopped pulling.

 _Well, if you won't break for me, let's see how well you fare against the force._

Before she could try, though, a door across the room slid open and a woman entered the room.

Ahsoka tried to characterise the woman as she came closer.

She seemed to be of about average height, perhaps at the lower edge of average, her skin was pale and her hair long and of a very light shade of gold, almost silver.

White boots, long white gloves and an elegant, short white dress... yup, that woman certainly seemed to like white.

"Ahsoka", the stranger greeted her happily, as if it was the most natural thing in world, "how very nice to finally meet you."

Ahsoka was dumbfounded and for a moment, she simply gawked at the stranger whose beautiful bright grey eyes seemed to softly glow and whose thin lips curled into a soft smile. Ahsoka had planned to snap at her but the joy the stranger portrayed seemed so genuine she didn't have the heart to.

"I was so hoping we would find you in time."

 _In time? In time for what?_

"I apologise for the way you were brought here. Seriously, I've _told_ them time and again that they – but do they listen to me?"

The strange woman sighed.

"They are blunt tools, but they get the job done."

Ahsoka had wanted to say something but the scene that presented itself to her was so different from what she had expected would happen when that door opened that she hardly managed to open her mouth.

"Anyway", the woman continued, "you gave me quite a fright when you darted off like that. Don't do that to me. We could have lost you."

This woman made absolutely no sense. Ahsoka was certain she had never seen her before. What's more, that strange woman had her abducted and brought here - wherever _here_ was - against her will. Why was she acting so friendly and familiar? And if she cared so much about her well-being, why the fuck was she tied to a table?

"Wh- who ..?", Ahsoka forced out of her mouth, finally breaking her stupor.

The strange woman gasped and her eyes widened, as if she just remembered.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners? I'm Arkee", she stated, as if that explained everything, then curtsied.

"You've probably never heard of me. After all, nobody speaks of those long dead, right?"

Arkee smiled at the confused Togruta on her table.

"Dont' worry, you'll learn much more about me _very_ soon."

She had spoken gently and with a warm voice, yet the way she pronounced ' _very'_ sent shivers down Ahsoka's spine.

"Don't worry so much, darling, I mean you no harm", Arkee claimed.

Ahsoka didn't feel any deceit from the woman and decided that if she wasn't in immediate danger, she could afford talking to this _Arkee_.

"Then why am I tied down?"

"A mere precaution. I don't want you to leap at me _or_ to escape before you've heard me out."

Her lips parted for a grin.

"Besides", she added with a strange glint in her eyes, "it's much more fun this way, isn't it?"

"What do you mean, it's more - hey, where are you going?"

Arkee walked around the table and out of Ahsoka's sight - revealing to Ahsoka that her white dress wasn't covering her wonderful back - and returned with a chair and a small bottle but without her gloves. She placed the bottle on the table, right next to Ahsoka's head, and the chair just behind Ahsoka, then for a moment simply stood there and gazed at Ahsoka with her beautiful bright eyes.

 _Wonderful? Beautiful?_

What was wrong with her? It was true, that Arkee was quite ... _marvellous_ , but ...

There, it happened again!

"Hm?"

Arkee leaned down to Ahsoka - _very_ close to Ahsoka - and stared into the very depths of Ahsoka's blue eyes. Their lips almost touched and as Ahsoka was drowning in a sea of pure silver, she wished nothing more than that they would.

Before she could tilt her head and let it happen, though, Arkee straightened back up - much to Ahsoka's disappointment.

"You're flushed, but you seem alright to me", she said and grinned.

"You're a very naughty girl."

If she had been flushed before, Ahsoka didn't know what she was now. And yet she lacked any rational explanation for her feelings, her ... _desire_.

"Wha- What have you - done - to me?", Ahsoka asked, trying in vain to calm both her voice and her loudly pounding heart.

" _Done_ to you?", Arkee echoed innocently, "you sound as if I forced something on you, when in truth, I simply ... emphasized what you already perceived."

"Why would you ..?"

Arkee grinned mischievously and bowed back down to Ahsoka, but this time, she placed her head to the left of her orange guest's.

"Come on, Ahsoka, where's your sense of adventure? Don't you feel excited?"

Her voice was soft and wrapped itself around Ahsoka - like a comfortable blanket.

"E- excited?", Ahsoka repeated, fighting against both, a sudden dizziness and a strong urge to rub her head against Arkee's.

"Hm-m", Arkee hummed, "for days you've done nothing but beat yourself up and now you're tied to a table in a strange room by a strange woman who you don't know anything about nor what she will do to you, and are forced to think about something else than how miserable you are. I'd call that exciting, darling."

Despite herself, Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat when she heard that last word.

 _I will not lose to you, Arkee, whoever you are, I will not ..._

"Good, you're finally fighting." Arkee seemed amused. "It will be so much more fun if you struggle, don't you think? Do you remember all the fantasies you were having when these pirates captured you? Those very, very _naughty_ fantasies?"

"How..?!"

"Really, Ahsoka, you should know."

Finally, Arkee straightened back up and Ahsoka breathed in relief.

"The force is a very convenient ally, after all, isn't it?"

Arkee walked behind the dumbfound Ahsoka and sat down on the chair she had brought earlier.

"The ... the force? You don't feel like a jedi, to me."

Arkee's lips curled into a smile.

"That's because I'm not."

"You don't feel dark enough to be sith, either."

"That's because I'm not", Arkee repeated as she opened the small bottle she had placed next to Ahsoka and poured its contents over her own hands.

"But jedi, sith or neither, my training should have made me immune to any force tricks."

"Yes, it should have", the pale woman chuckled as she carefully rubbed her hands together, spreading whatever it was she had poured over them.

"But it didn't. Not against me."

To Ahsoka's surprise, horror and ... delight, Arkee started massaging her lekku.

The lekku of a Togruta were similar in purpose to those of the Twi'lek and stored some parts of their brains that held memory. To ensure they were handled with proper care, they were very sensitive. Touching them was considered highly erotic amongst the togruri.

"Arkee!"

Ahsoka tried to wiggle free of the tender caress that felt so damn good and made it hard to think straight, but the soft ropes held her firmly in place.

"Please ..."

"Shhhhh, darling", her assailant whispered, "relax. We are the same, you and I, which is why I know that after the last couple of weeks, you are in desperate need of a ... comforting presence."

Ahsoka shivered as the nimble white fingers slid down the back of her side lekku and back up on their front.

"Let me be that presence. Let me make you forget your past loneliness."

Her hands slid all the way up Ahsoka's small montrals, briefly massaged their very tips, then down their back and her middle lek.

It felt wonderful. How bad could it be to just relax and let Arkee have her way with her? Wait , she did not just think that, did she? Ahsoka forced herself to fight the pleasurable feeling that was threatening to paralyse her reasoning and the growing urge to just give in, forget all that had worried her since she left the jedi, and let whatever would happen happen.

Damn, that did sound like a great idea. She needed to think of something else - and quickly.

"What do you mean, _we are the same_?"

She gasped as Arkee' skilled fingers explored the folds where her hind lek met her side lekku. Instinctively, she tried to jerk her head away, only to find that the ropes held her tightly and that she was very much at Arkee's mercy.

Arkee, of course, noticed and continued to massage these exact spots mercilessly. Her orange victim gasped and squirmed and twitched, but Arkee never let up.

"Have you ever heard of jedi legend Volfe Karkko?"

"No!", wailed Ahsoka, more in response to her tormentor's caress than to her question.

"Of couse you haven't. There are few alive who know of him and fewer still who would speak of him - except for the Anzati."

Arkee finally moved on to other parts of her lekku and Ahsoka's twitching started to get less intense.

"You see, Volfe Karkko was the first - and last - of the Anzati to ever complete jedi training. And large parts of the Anzati continue to revere him, even almost a millennium after his imprisonment."

"Imprisonment?"

Arkee slid her hands up Ahsoka's montrals again.

"As you were taught in the temple, they are humanoid predators, hunting - predominantly - other humanoid species. All Anzati share a hereditary hunger for the _soup_ of other sentient beings, that they suck out of their victims' brains with tentacles normally hidden in some cheek pockets of sorts."

Had she been feeling normally, Ahsoka would have cringed at the thought. Thanks to Arkee, though, she wasn't exactly feeling normal and most of her thoughts were about Arkee. Beautiful Arkee. Why was she filling her mind with horror stories? And why did her hands feel so damn nice?

"The hunger starts as a simple inexplicable itch", Arkee continued and tickled the tips of Ahsoka's montrals.

"If left unsatisfied, it will never be more than that."

It felt good, but faint. Ahsoka stretched herself, hoping it would make Arkee massage her more thoroughly. Wait, that wasn't right, she should be -

"However, once an Anzat has had his first taste..."

Arkee slid her hands a bit lower, assaulting a larger part of Ahsoka's montrals with a pleasant feeling and Ahsoka happily rubbed her head against Arkee's hands.

"... he will want more.

Her hand slid even lower.

"And more."

Lower.

"Until finally ..."

Ahsoka closed her eyes and prepared herself for what had to come next.

Ever so slowly, Arkee's fingers crept closer and closer to the spots that until moments ago, Ahsoka had not even known herself were the most sensitive on her lekku.

"Please dnh-"

Arkees fingers slipped into the folds where her lekku joined and for a moment, Ahsoka could do nothing but gasp while waves of pleasure threatened to drown her.

"... it spins completely out of control", Arkee finished her sentence.

Ahsoka wanted to struggle but the ropes didn't allow her. She could do nothing but toss her head left and right, trying in vain to escape the pleasurable tickling.

By the time Arkee finally let up and went back to massaging larger parts of her lekku, Ahsoka was breathing heavily. Her captor – for whatever reason – wanted her aroused, and damn, it was working. She had never imagined it was possible for her lekku to feel so good, but it was; it definitely was. Ahsoka couldn't help but imagine how it would feel if beautiful Arkee - cruel beautiful Arkee - would violate her with all her might and just never stopped. Oh, how she would struggle, scream, plead. The white woman would ignore her protests, of course, and the merciless rope would keep her in place, helpless, while she, herself, would slowly lose her mind...

Was she already losing her mind? She needed to stop thinking like this.

"Karkko himself had never tasted the soup. And in his arrogance, he thought his jedi abilities would put him above the addiction and that therefore, there was no danger in tasting it once. A mistake. He started hunting regularly and got more and more greedy, taking even other jedi as prey. Eventually, he was declared a threat and hunted down. He's been imprisoned for close to a millennium, now.

Her massage had become softer, and Ahsoka finally felt confident enough to form whole words with her voice.

"A millennium?"

Arkee nodded.

"The Anzati are a long-living race. Some of the older ones are even older than the republic itself."

"But what does this have to do with you? With us?"

Arkee smiled - a sad smile.

"Volfe Karkko had a padawan, at one time. A female Anzat. At the time it was thought that an Anzat was best trained by another, especially because the Anzati were still a race about which only little was known. And also, many jedi distrusted the Anzati and were happy to have somebody else take care of her. After Karkko was captured, the jedi decided to never again train Anzati as jedi. For the Anzati are inherently force-sensitive and naturally develop a way to force their will on other beings, which is, of course, very useful when they hunt. Though the jedi were trained to be immune to that kind of influence, when coupled with a jedi mindtrick, even the more powerful jedi had a hard time defending against them. To prevent another Karkko, it was decided for the padawan to be cut off from the living force."

"They can do that?!"

Ahsoka was shocked. It sounded too violent for the teachings of the jedi as she were taught them.

"They can, and they have done so in the past, although they haven't for a very, very long time. A cruel thing to do - similar to blinding a non-force-sensitive being – but still, it was deemed the only safe way to deal with Karkko's padawan."

"But she hadn't done anything wrong!", Ahsoka protested.

Arkee forced another smile.

"No darling, she hadn't. Yet when she learned about their plan and fled, she was quickly declared a sith and knights were sent to hunt her down. _Bring her to justice,_ they called it. I'm sure that sounds familiar to you."

Ahsoka remembered her own escape, how she was framed, how nobody would believe in her and it infuriated her that apparently, the jedi were just as prejudiced and flawed as the rest of the people they so arrogantly patronised. How could she have remained blind to the hypocrisy for so long?

 _I understand_ , her former master's last words to her echoed through her head, _more than you realise, I understand wanting to walk away from the order._

Had he known? Had he felt?

Arkee's voice brought her mind back to where her body was.

"After many months, the tired and desperate padawan decided to stop running. She rigged a stolen speeder with explosives and flew it into the jedi temple.. and that was the last any jedi would ever seen of her."

Ahsoka averted her eyes and looked out of the window to her right.

Had she not been caught, would she have ended up like that as well? Always on the run until she lost all will to continue and ..?

Arkee's massage had toned down to a careful and slow caress and as Ahsoka closed her eyes and enjoyed the comforting closeness and warmth of her new acquaintance.

"Arkee?", Ahsoka eventually broke the silence.

She knew. She knew but she needed to hear it.

"Arkee, are you ..?"

"I was", the white woman answered, "I _was_ that padawan."

For a while, they just remained like that. Neither of them saying anything.

This time, it was Arkee who broke the silence.

"Damn, I totally killed the mood, didn't I?"

Ahsoka hadn't expected _that_ and began to chuckle. As she did, Arkee let go of her lekku, walked to the other side of the table and … crawled up?!

She felt the white woman slide up between her spread legs, up her belly, up her breasts until finally, their eyes were aligned.

Arkee's weight on her body felt quite comfortable and although there was a dress and a bathrobe separating their bodies, Ahsoka felt her strange companion's warmth permeating her own body, intoxicating her. And her eyes, those silvery depths drawing her in...

Ahsoka felt her heart thumping loudly again.

"That's better, isn't it?", she heard the voice behind the silver seas breathe, "relax..."

Arkee's cheek pockets opened and Ahsoka bolted.

"Arkee?!"

She screamed but she couldn't do anything. The ropes still held her and Arkee's weight prevented her from moving anything but her head.

"What are you..?! Why are you..?!"

"I said … relax!", Arkee commanded calmly, and almost instantaneously, Ahsoka felt her body go limp.

"Please ...", she pleaded weakly, "please don't."

That was all she had the strength to say. She closed her eyes and prepared for what had to come next. A gentle hand forced her head up and something very thin tickled her nose. Ahsoka twitched - her body's last weak attempt to break free – then she felt it.

Something hot and soft pressed against her lips. Ahsoka didn't move, couldn't move, was all but paralysed. She waited. Any moment now, long thin tendrils would ram themselves up her nose, into her brain, and suck out her soup, whatever that was, extinguishing her in the process. She wondered what it would feel like. Would she just silently fade away? Or would excruciating pain shred her mind?

But no matter how long she waited, nothing of the sort happened.

Or had it happened already? Was this how being one with the force felt?

Something hot and soft tickled at her lips and slowly, they parted – almost on their own - allowing it to protrude into her mouth where it massaged the tip of her tongue while a soft feeling nibbled at her upper lip.

Ahsoka opened her eyes. She wasn't dead, she was being kissed.

For a moment, she just laid there, trying to figure out what just happened, while Arkee ravaged her mouth. It felt great, but what the hell was happening?

When Arkee finally ended the kiss, she looked at the dumbfounded Togruta and laughed. A clear laugh, a happy laugh.

"You're … terrible", Ahsoka protested, "I really thought I'd be ..."

Arkee tried to stop laughing, failed, then tried again and chuckled.

"Why- why would I have bothered explaining all this to you if I just wanted a quick slurp? Besides ..."

She pointed at the small dangling stubs protruding from her cheek pockets, just long enough to reach beyond the tip of her nose.

"There's no way I'm going to suck anything with these, is there?"

"The jedi did that to you?", Ahsoka asked, noticing the small burn scars Arkee's tentacles ended in.

"No", she replied, " _I_ did that to myself. As a reminder and to make sure I would never repeat my stupid master's mistake."

She placed her hands on Ahsoka's lekku and retraced her mutilated tentacles.

"But the past will have to wait", she said as she resumed massaging them, "I want you. Here, now, and until we both go insane."

Ahsoka blushed again.

"Why me?"

Arkee licked Ahsoka's lips.

"Why not? You're lonely, I'm lonely, we both share the same kind of past and you want to feel my warmth every bit as much as I want to feel yours. And ..."

She leaned in for a kiss.

"... you're very cute."

She kissed her and slid her fingers into the cavity between her orange victim's lekku that she had explored earlier.

"Come on, admit it. You haven't felt this excited since you and Barriss experimented with force-masturbating each other."

Ahsoka's eyes widened.

"Will you stop using the force to lift embarrassing memories from my mind?!"

Arkee kissed her again.

Yes, she did feel excited. Very excited, in fact. Her heart raced and her breath grew heavier with each moment the white woman had her way with her. Perhaps she should just … enjoy it?

"Oh well", Ahsoka said, bashfully averting her eyes, "it's not like I could resist anyway."

Arkee grinned again.

"The ropes? I could get rid of them, but you don't want me to, do you?"

Another hot kiss burned into Ahsoka's lips and she felt it all the way up into her brain.

"After all the time you had to be strong for others, you enjoy being helpless for once."

Ahsoka moaned softly as Arkee licked and sucked on her left lek. That woman knew what she was doing. And by the force, did Ahsoka want her to keep doing that.

She said something, but didn't remember what it was. Her hazed eyes sought Arkee's lips and her whole body leapt with joy as they pressed against her own again.

The pleasure from her lekku could just as well have originated from her very brain and it violated her every thought.

She tilted her head up and let the hungry white Anzati lips nibble on her throat. Her chest heaved quickly and always quicker as her breaths grew shorter and shorter.

"Arkee!", she moaned, "Arkee!"

"Don't fight it. Let it happen."

Her lover sped up her caress. Nimble fingers danced over her lekku into her very brain and suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. Ahsoka moaned and howled as her body went into spasm and white hot pleasure filled every fibre of her body.

"That's it", Arkee breathed, "keep it up."

Instead of slowing down now that her orange victim was orgasming, Arkee intensified her massage. She was now violently kneading her new lover's lekku and she seemed to like it.

Ahsoka's screamed as she came again and then again and again. She pulled at her bounds, tried to twist her body, she jumped and bolted as much as the ropes and Arkee's weight on her allowed, but there was no escape, no break, just white hot pleasure. She bucked and bucked until she lacked the strength to do so, she howled until her throat wouldn't surrender more than a soft moan and when Arkee finally stopped, she completely lacked control over her trembling body.

"That was amazing, Ahsoka."

Yes, yes it was. How many times had she come and for how long? She didn't know, nor did she care, but it had been awesome.

"I -", she tried to catch her breath, "I didn't know touching my lekku could do that to me."

Arkee kissed her, then slid off her and off the table.

"Come, let's sit down and chat. I'll let you catch you breath before I do you."

She gestured at the sofas in the middle of the room then took a couple steps towards them.

"You just did and I can't get up."

She was probably grinning again. Ahsoka couldn't see Arkee anymore, but she was _definitely_ grinning again.

"Don't be silly, Ahsoka. We just warmed up. And the ropes..."

The white Anzat happily skipped into view again.

"In a way, they are like you: _really_ tough if you try to break them by force, but a gentle push in the right place ..."

She closed her eyes and the ropes undid themselves and slid to the ground.

"... and they fall for you."

Ahsoka blushed.

"E- even so, I still cannot get up. My limbs simply lack the strength to carry me."

Why hadn't she denied the part about falling for her?

"Oh?"

Arkee faked a surprise.

"Then I suggest you get your strength back quickly, you'll need it."

Ahsoka was lifted up and slowly levitated to the couches as Arkee walked below her.

Arkee sat down at one end of the couch and the force that held Ahsoka aloft slowly lowered her onto the same couch such that her head came to rest in Arkee's lap.

Arkee gently caressed Ahsoka – in a non-sexual way, this time.

"I'm sure, you have a lot of questions. And I do owe you an explanation, don't I?"

Ahsoka closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the warmth of her new friend. And that's what they were, right now. Whoever that Arkee was, whatever Arkee wanted of her, whatever sinister plan she might have hidden from her, right now, she felt like a friend and Ahsoka wanted to treasure that for as long as it would last before she ruined it by learning the truth.

Her thoughts wandered to her other friend. The one who had betrayed her, Barriss. She would never see her green friend again. Never embrace her again. Never laugh with her, not even exchange a kind word. She had remained blind to the truth up to the very last moment. And she'd rather have died than learn the horrible truth. More than what Barriss had said about the jedi, it was the fact she had tried to frame her that pained Ahsoka. She herself had had her reservations about the war, and by now, she had lost the respect for all jedi but her former master, yet Barriss …

Despite herself, she sobbed, and for a while, she simply laid there and cried seeking comfort in her new lover's gentle touch.

 _Please! Please don't betray me. Not you too. Not now._

When Ahsoka had calmed down enough to re-open her eyes, she was greeted by Arkee's gentle face. Arkee never had stopped her caress nor had she said a word. She simply looked at her, comforting her with her mere presence.

Beautiful Arkee. Wonderful Arkee.

Ahsoka found she could use her arms again and she reached above her, gently touched the soft white cheeks, then pulled herself up and kissed Arkee's gleaming white lips. Tears started to flow again and she embraced Arkee, hugged her tightly to her chest and cried. Arkee just sat there, hugging her back until eventually, this flood ebbed as well and Ahsoka regained at least some of her composure.

She found herself kneeling on the couch, still hugging the sitting Arkee below her, and without letting go of her, she forced a single word out of her mouth: "Why?"

She buried her head in Arkee's neck and increased the force with which she was pressing her to her chest.

"Why?", she repeated, that's all she could manage.

Perhaps Arkee would now break her heart. Perhaps she would tell her a convenient lie that Ahsoka would want to believe. Perhaps she would be used as a mere tool, no more than a pawn to be sacrificed in a game of dejarik. Or perhaps, just perhaps, there was no ulterior motive...

Either way, Ahsoka needed to hear it. And though she flinched when she felt Arkee open her mouth, she was going to hear it.

"After I had faked my death all these years ago, my mind was in a similar state."

Arkee's voice sounded distant and faint. She spoke slowly and her words were loaded with pain.

"I hated the jedi for the injustice they had done to me, and I very nearly fell victim to the dark side."

She carefully stroked the occasionally still sobbing orange Togruta in her lap.

"Ironically, what eventually prevented my fall, was the very hatred that threatened to consume me. I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of becoming the very thing they had declared me. It was then that I realised the jedi code to be utter nonsense."

She huffed.

" _No emotion, just peace_ , yeah, I felt _very_ peaceful right then. My non-existent emotions could have strangled a rankor in his prime."

Ahsoka smiled carefully, she liked the picture.

" _No ignorance, just knowledge._ And yet in their ignorance, they sought to destroy me out of nothing but fear", Arkee continued.

" _No passion, just serenity._ And yet we had been told to trust our feelings. A joke. The jedi would rob themselves of all that made them living beings to represent a cruel and abominable mockery of life. A caricature. And yet they presume to patronise other beings. No, I didn't want to have anything to do with that kind of life anymore."

Arkee must have noticed she was starting to lose her composure because she took a deep breath before continuing.

"So I turned to the sith code that I had read about during my studies at the temple, and it sounded much more like a life worth living."

And with that, she started to recite.

" _Peace is a lie, there is only passion._ Yes, that most definitely matched my set of mind better."

She looked at the orange Togruta.

"Strength, power, victory, and the promise of freedom – for one such as I, who had nothing and nothing to lose, this was most certainly more alluring than the faked peacefulness the jedi had been teaching – and as I understand, are teaching still."

Ahsoka found it hard to disagree as she remembered how she had dissected that pillow earlier in her room at the inn. The inn – that could not have been more than a couple hours, perhaps days, back, and yet, it seemed an eternity away.

"And yet, when I had fried a merchant with force-lightning only because he tried to cheat me, I decided that this path, too, was inherently flawed and too violent to be worth pursuing."

Arkee raised her head and looked out of the window.

"The galaxy is more than simply black and white, there are hues of grey, beautiful threads of silver, and they weave the very fabric of life. I wanted to become one such silver thread."

She turned her eyes back at Ahsoka.

"A millennium is a long time. I've honed my skills and trained in loneliness, always keeping an eye at the jedi temple. I watched with satisfaction as one by one, all who knew of me died, either on some mission or of old age. And I started collecting jedi drop-outs. Made sure they wouldn't fall to the dark side, taught them what I knew, then sent them on their ways. What they do, where they are, I don't know. I don't even know how many of my silver threads are still alive. We don't have a code, we don't have a purpose. We train in the force because we can and we use it as we deem best for whatever benefit would suit us."

Arkee leaned back, put a hand beneath Ahsoka's chin and gently forced her head up.

"You, darling, could become a very special thread. I've waited a very long time for somebody to experience the same kind of injustice I had experienced and live through it. Most others either killed themselves or were caught or slain by the jedi. You, on the other hand, you walked away. I could complete your training and teach you how to avoid your pursuers."

"Pursuers? I'm not being pursued anymore, I'm done with the jedi."

"No, they _will_ come looking for you. By now, the two guys that had been following you must have come to. They will have reported to their masters that they were knocked out by an unknown amount of beings that had somehow managed to sneak up on them, and that they have since lost every track of you."

Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat.

"I – I was being spied upon? By the jedi?!"

Arkee chuckled, but it sounded dry.

"Did you really think the jedi would just leave you alone? They trained you in the force, and in a way, that would render them responsible for the havoc you could wreck if you so chose. _And_ they want somebody ready to take you out if you should fall to the dark side. Though they really must fear you to send two of their shadows at once."

She didn't know what to say. _Shadows?_ And they would have ...

"Am I to understand that the jedi maintain assassins?"

"Quite so. Although very few within the jedi order know of them and none would call them that. They aren't _assassins_ , they are – ahem- _shadows_ , they lurk about and strike at targets designated to them by a subset of the jedi high council, and are never seen by any other members of their order."

Ahsoka could not believe what she heard. Was everything she had known – no, thought to know, about the jedi a lie?

"How do _you_ know about them?", she asked.

Arkee grimaced.

"I ripped that information from the mind of the first shadow they sent after me. As I said, the Anzati's natural influence over the mind of other beings coupled with a jedi force trick is a powerful weapon, and I had learned from Volfe Karkko himself."

"You mean like you did with my ...", Ahsoka blushed, "... memories?"

"No, that was a much easier and much more gentle thing. Had I done to you what I had done to him, we would not be having this conversation at all as your brain would simply refuse to form any coherent thought and would eventually be splattered across this room in an outburst of mine."

Ahsoka shuddered.

"I was on the run, I didn't have time to play it nice. For you, I simply convinced your mind that there was no harm in surrendering your more perverted memories to me."

She wasn't quite sure how such a thing was possible, but Ahsoka decided that was good enough. Whether Arkee had been telling the truth or not, she couldn't say, but she was willing to believe her. No, that's not quite it. She _wanted_ to believe her so much that she eventually ended up believing her. But that was alright. She was sick and tired of doubting everything and everybody and if Arkee was deceiving her, she was pretty good.

"So … what happens now?", an evidently cheered-up Ahsoka asked her new friend.

"Now, darling", Arkee said with smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes, "now you must decide whether you knock me out and escape this place – nobody's outside to stop you - or if you'd rather join me and shag until they hear us all the way down to the lowest levels."

Ahsoka blushed, but quickly regained her composure, this time. It hadn't taken her more than a moment to make her choice and she jumped backwards off the sofa, flipped in the air and landed at some distance on the soft carpet. There she stood and tugged at her bathrobe .

"If you want a piece of me, _Master_ , you'll have to catch me", she playfully shouted.

"My very foolish _apprentice"_ , Arkee responded as she took off her boots, "you obviously still have much to learn."

And so they faced each other, Ahsoka in nothing but a bathrobe and Arkee in just her white backless dress. For a moment, they just stared at each other, both blushing, both grinning, until Arkee made the first move.

And what a move it was. Ahsoka barely had time to duck below Arkee's arms as they closed around her. Arkee had been standing half a room away from her, but that distance meant nothing when accelerating one's movements with the force.

Ahsoka rolled away, got back on her feet and started running. The room was big with only little of furniture, so there was a lot of place to move. She jumped over Arkee as she dove for her feet, then wall-ran the windows to move over the table she had been tied to not so long ago. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Arkee running towards her and pushed herself off the wall, flipped and landed in front of the table near the sofas. She had just jumped on the table and was running on it when Arkee swept her off her feet with a well-placed kick. Ahsoka crashed on the table and rolled down onto the floor, where she had just enough time to kick at Arkee - who was already lunging at her – and force her to evade. She rolled back onto her feet and kept running, closely pursued by a white bolt.

"You're mine!", Arkee shouted as she caught Ahsoka by her waist and pulled her down onto the ground.

"No!", Ahsoka shrieked theatrically.

They rolled on the floor, both trying to stay on top of the other. Ahsoka's hands glided over Arkee's smooth, warm back and found the edge of he white dress. Ahsoka ripped it apart, which revealed the firm white breasts the dress had been hiding until now.

"You look marvellous for a thousand years old grandma!", she teased and finally managed to throw Arkee off her.

Arkee landed and let the shreds of her dress slide off her.

"Don't get cocky with me", she roared as she threw her naked white body at Ahsoka who was staggering back onto her feet, "I've eaten more little Togruta girls for breakfast than you have lived days."

She crashed into Ahsoka and pulled her down again. As they rolled over the soft carpet, she slid her hand into Ahsoka's bathrobe and cupped her breast.

"Ah-ha!", she exclaimed as she squeezed it, "those are some nice and innocent tits; they scream for me to teach them a proper lesson."

She put her hands on Ahsoka's bathrobe and ripped it open, but Ahsoka took advantage of that moment and slipped out of both, the bathrobe and Arkee's grip.

Back on her feet, Ahsoka ran past the sofas and towards the window again, breathing heavily, as she did, though she could not tell whether it was due to exhaustion or excitement. She hadn't felt this alive in weeks.

Arkee threw away the empty bathrobe and went after Ahsoka, a vicious white akk dog that had licked blood and now moved in for the kill.

Ahsoka force-threw a sofa at her and was surprised by how nimble Arkee dove to avoid it and in the same movement prepared to leap at her.

Dodging by a hair's breadth, she changed her direction and ran.

"Oh no, you don't!"

A table crashed into the wall right in front of her and Ahsoka leapt over it, only to find that it was impossible to avoid the sofa, that suddenly appeared, while airborne. She crashed into the sofa and fell, providing Arkee with more than enough time to catch up to her and she screamed as the golden-haired fury pounced on her. Again, they rolled over the floor, but this time, Arkee managed to roll the nude Togruta on her back and pin her down. Ahsoka could have sworn she heard a growl, then famished Arkee savaged her. Playing the unwilling victim, Ahsoka screamed and twisted. Her left hand escaped her attacker's grip and found the dangling white breast above her. She tried to push it away, but the white beast was stronger. White legs forced her own open and but an instant later, long white claws hungrily dug into the soaking wet depths of her crotch while an insatiable tongue attacked her neck.

She struggled for a while longer, but ever weaker and finally surrendered herself. She had been defeated.

But never before had defeat felt so good. Ahsoka fondled Arkee's breasts and nibbled on her shoulder. She wrapped her legs around Arkee's waist and gasped when she felt the depth this allowed her white lover to penetrate into her. She wanted to return the favour but her arms were too short. Just as she opened her mouth to complain, Arkee sped up and all Ahsoka that escaped her throat were fiery moans of lust. White pleasure filled her mind and much to her frustration, she could do nothing but gasp and buck and moan while Arkee … Arkee … Ah … Ahrrr... Her mind went blank.

"Keeeeeeeee!"

She came, and screamed, and screamed as she came. Her arms and legs grew limp and Arkee quickly released her nether regions, slid up and pressed her own wet hot crotch against Ahsoka's. The ride was hard, violent, passionate and Ahsoka loved it.

Catching one of her lover's nipples with her teeth, she grunted like an animal as she nibbled on it and massaged the other with her hands.

Arkee shuddered and twitched. Loud hot moans echoed throughout the room as the Anzati woman reached the peak of her pleasure, but Ahsoka wasn't going to let her off that easily. As her lover went limp, she rolled herself on top of her and straightened up as she rubbed her crotch against the now defenceless Anzat's with all her might.

She was exhausted, but she didn't care, she just went on and on and on, losing herself in timeless passion, in unending desire, and before long, they both had been reduced to howling, growling beasts.

Arkee reached up and massaged the bouncing small orange tits of the relentlessly moving Togruta. Ahsoka enjoyed the sensation for a moment, then decided she wasn't satisfied with that level of contact. She laid down on top of the white woman, buried her head deep in her chest as she hugged the hot and slippery body beneath her, then humped as if she wanted her hips to give out. White haze filled her mind again, but she couldn't stop, not yet. Ahsoka gritted her teeth and sped up. Her body protested and bucked but she forced it down and continued. Fatigue and pleasure threatened to rip her mind apart, but she didn't care. She couldn't rest, she still needed to …

Finally, she felt her lover shudder beneath her. Arkee bucked and screamed and clawed at Ahsoka.

Satisfied with her success, Ahsoka closed her eyes and sank into a dreamless slumber.

 _If you're deceiving me, Arkee, don't let me know. Please, just don't let me know._


	2. Ch2 - The Beauty of Darkness

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.2: The Beauty of Darkness  
**

"Here, these should do nicely."

Arkee handed her two small crystals and Ahsoka accepted them with quivering hands. She had left her sabres when she walked away from the order and until a couple days ago, she hadn't expected to ever again hold weapons of the kind she had grown up with. She brought one of the crystals closer to her eyes and admired the iridescence of the little bright stone.

"They're beautiful", Ahsoka remarked, then blushed slightly.

 _And_ they came from the person she now most cared about, but she wasn't going to speak those thoughts.

"Now concentrate. You'll find everything you need right here in this room."

Arkee touched a wall and what Ahsoka had thought to be the walls of the small room disappeared into the ceiling, revealing that the room wasn't so small, after all, but filled with many cabinets.

"They all contain lightsabre parts? How did you pay for all this?"

"Oh, knowing a trick or two in the force is useful when going to the casino. Win big a couple times, invest the money and you'll live quite comfortably. If the jedi weren't taught frugality , they'd be owning the galaxy."

She shrugged and looked at the orange Togruta sitting in the middle of the room.

"Not so interesting a story, I'm afraid."

Ahsoka closed her eyes. She needed a weapon, yes, especially if what Arkee had told her about these _'shadows'_ who were going to come after her was true. Something quick, something nimble ... yet destructive.

One by one, the parts she wanted levitated towards her. Drawers opened and closed and very soon, a veritable swarm of mechanical pieces was zipping around her.

She let go of the crystals in her hand and they joined the swarm.

Finally, the swarm changed from simply flying to having a purpose. Each part slowly levitated to its preordained place and when Ahsoka opened her eyes, two small hilts laid in her lap. She picked them up and gently caressed the cool metal.

"Is that them?"

Arkee who hadn't said anything during their construction seemed almost as excited as Ahsoka.

"That's them", Ahsoka confirmed as she stood up and ignited the sabres.

Beams of pure silver shot out of the slender hilts. She swung her new weapons and watched them happily dance through the air - accompanied by the familiar hum and the usual scent of ozone - and decapitating an imaginary battle droid. Ahsoka laughed.

"They're beautiful!", she repeated, then turned them off, "thank you, Arkee."

Her white Anzati companion smiled.

"Come", Arkee said as she led them out of the room and up some stairs into a larger room, "let's see what you can do with them."

"Wearing _this_?", Ahsoka protested.

They were both wearing the same kind of black and grey wetsuit Arkee had brought them earlier. They were comfortable, but very effectively accentuated their bodies in all their womanly glory. She could even make out the nipples on Arkee's well formed breasts and ...

Ahsoka blushed and averted her eyes. Was this any time to be thinking about that? Her face turned even redder as she recalled the things she and the white Anzat had done to each other and despite herself, her body reacted to her memories.

Still flushed and biting her lips, she turned towards her friend.

"I mean ..."

Of course her lewd glances weren't missed by Arkee who now was grinning and raised her arms above her head, striking a pose.

"Attack me anytime, darling, don't be shy."

She let her hands slide down the side of her head, over her shoulders and under her breasts, then gently squeezed them.

"I'm always ready for you", she breathed and winked.

Arkee ducked and evaded Ahsoka's swords. Jumping backwards, she laughed.

"That's the spirit! Take me while I'm still helpless!"

Obviously enjoying herself, she dodged another couple of Ahsoka's blow.

"Will you _please_ stop that? I'm embarrassed enough, as it is."

"No need to feel embarrassed, darling", her nimble target teased, "nobody here but us."

Jumping to avoid another flash of silver, Arkee landed behind Ahsoka.

"You could do _anything_ to me and nobody would ever know."

Ahsoka wheeled around and glared at Arkee who had long moved out of range.

"Focus, Ahsoka, focus! I can feel your passion, your desire and the shame you're feeling about them."

She dropped to the floor and rolled to the side to escape another angrily humming lightsabre, then back onto her feet.

"It's wonderful, but it's making you predictable. Calm yourself."

Easier said than done. Her heart was pounding loudly and blood had been constantly rushing to her face.

Ahsoka closed her eyes. What she thought to have known about the jedi may have been a lie, but that didn't mean all of their lessons were.

However, she quickly opened her eyes again and brought a sabre up to block a sudden swing of Arkee's.

"Are you brain-dead?! Don't close your eyes in the middle of a fight!"

Arkee's sabre had a sleek black hilt and almost looked fragile, but the impact was so heavy Ahsoka was catapulted several metres back. When had Arkee drawn that sabre, and from where?

Taken completely by surprise, she barely had time to notice Arkee was already swinging at her again and jumped backwards.

"I've seen too many die because they concentrated on a single target and remained oblivious to the immediate danger around them. Until you have the necessary perception in the force, your eyes will remain open in a battle."

Arkee proved a veritable hurricane with her sword; each of her one-handed blows struck like a hammer with barely enough time between them for Ahsoka to stagger backwards and block the next. She needed to think of something, and fast.

Ahsoka weakened her grip on her left sabre. Arkee took the bait and knocked the sabre out of her hand, but doing so left her own left exposed just long enough for Ahsoka to sidestep her.

"Got ynh-"

Ahsoka who had swung at Arkee was sent flying by a kick into her stomach and crashed into the floor at some distance.

"Very good", Arkee commented, "but careless finish."

Ahsoka slowly stood up. Her arms were heavy and ached from absorbing the strong impacts of Arkee's blows, her hands trembled, she still felt Arkee's kick and she had a difficult time focusing - this was quite different from fighting the mindless battle droids with their easily-deflected blaster shots she had primarily faced in the past.

Oh well, what didn't kill her ...

Her left sabre flew back into her hand and she ignited it. Without saying a word, she charged at the grinning white woman.

Arkee proved quite harsh a teacher. She did not attack as violently anymore, but she mercilessly punished each of Ahsoka's errors with kicks and punches; and when they finally stopped, Ahsoka hardly felt her body anymore. Arkee, on the other hand, looked as if their training session hadn't affected her at all - Ahsoka almost felt envious - almost, because she reminded herself that this strength and endurance must stem from several lifetimes' worth of training, accompanied by a constant fear of a hostile jedi's lurking around the next corner. Ahsoka smiled sadly.

What would Arkee have become if the jedi had been more just in their judgement?

"So, you survived", Arkee remarked as she walked over.

Ahsoka knelt down in front of her executor, theatrically extended her arms and tilted her head up.

"Come to finish the job, monster?"

Arkee licked her lips.

"A sacrifice?"

She reached down and placed her hand at Ahsoka's chin.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?"

She growled as she bent down to the little orange Togruta offering.

Their faces were now less than a hand's width apart from each other. Ahsoka stared into the grey eyes of the daemon looming over her, these big bright beautiful grey eyes, and felt its hot breath trickling down her throat and into her wetsuit while its presence surrounded her, trapped her, drew her in...

"An easy way out."

So close. So close...

Her heart was beating violently, her breath went wild and she felt dizzy.

Any moment now, she could already feel the white fiend's fangs closing around her neck, sinking into her throat.

 _Swallow me. Rip me apart._

Arkee's fingers slid down her throat, down her sternum and stopped at her navel.

"No, I don't think so."

Much to the shivering Togruta's dismay, the white beast retreated. She groaned in frustration.

"You're mine - mine to torment until I release you, and I'm not done with you just yet. Now get up."

When Ahsoka returned from the shower, she was wearing thin silver pyjamas. She couldn't look Arkee into the eyes without blushing. Her harmless joke had turned into an awesome fantasy and part of her regretted they hadn't taken it any further - the rest just wanted to bury herself out of shame.

She threw herself onto one of the sofas and watched her golden-haired friend disappear into the bathroom.

Then she stretched, groaned from the pain that was causing her, then took a small remote control from the table and pressed a button. A screen popped out of the ceiling and slowly turned towards her.

Ahsoka had learned that the white room she and Arkee had first … met was not nearly as empty as it had seemed then. Most of the furniture was hidden in either the walls or the ceiling and could be brought forth at will.

Ahsoka yawned. She wasn't really interested in the news but doing anything else hurt.

Speeder accidents, some fraud was arrested, ads for a cultural hocus-pocus of some kind - Ahsoka was just about to drowse off, when ...

"... coming in just now. Only minutes ago, Chancellor Palpatine confirmed that he would _suffer_ – as he put it – the reinstitution of the death penalty if the senate decided in its favour, even if it were to happen against the will of the jedi."

She gawked at the screen in disbelief. Why would ..?

"Several senators had proposed to execute convicted terrorists to make the galaxy a better place and a saver place for the citizens of the republic. When asked how he felt about these proposals, Chancellor Palpatine stated:"

The feed cut to a video of Palpatine.

"Personally, I would deeply regret having to reinstitute the death penalty after it has now been abolished for centuries, and indeed, I have received messages from concerned citizens - and yes, from members of the jedi council as well - urging me to end this discussion and block the bill. But I believe that it is up to the republic, not to a single person such as I to define what is or isn't in the best interest of its citizens. And that therefore, if it is the will of the senate that caught terrorists are permanently removed from our midst, I do not have the right to stand in the way of efforts to make our republic a safer place, even when I myself am doubting the effectiveness of so drastic a step. We must show the people we are taking their concerns seriously, even – and especially – in these troubled times, and therefore, we should at least discuss the ideas presented by the very senators they elected."

The feed cut back to the newsreader.

"Meanwhile rumours are spreading that the ' _true reason'_ the jedi are trying to prevent the reinstitution of the death penalty is to protect one of their own, former jedi Barriss Offee, who is currently detained and awaiting trial on charges of terrorism and treason, related to the bombing incidents almost two months back. Critics complain that the vote due later next week signified ..."

Ahsoka didn't hear the rest. A large picture of Barriss had appeared on the screen; big red letters read 'Barriss Offee: jedi, traitor, terrorist' and although Ahsoka knew that to be true, she still could hardly believe it. Her face looked so gentle in this picture, so peaceful, nothing indicated that she would ever ... that she would ...

"You sure you want to hear this?"

Unbeknownst to Ahsoka, Arkee had returned from her shower, wearing a long white nightgown. She took the control and turned the screen off.

"I don't know why, but these guys hate the jedi with a passion. They never miss a chance to bring up something bad or to spread some 'rumours' about them. They've been using Barriss on an almost daily basis as a means to emphasise that the jedi are not to be trusted."

She looked at Ahsoka.

"You ok?"

"No", she answered honestly, then weakly smiled, "but I will be, thank you."

Terrorist or no, the jedi order would never allow Barriss to be hurt, let alone be executed. Never... would they? Ahsoka thought about how easily the jedi had surrendered herself to the republic and what Arkee had told her about her own past.

They would. And the republic already had Barriss.

 _Calm yourself, Ahsoka_ , she reminded herself _, the bill is not yet passed. And even if it were to pass, Barriss is not yet sentenced to death. And even if she were to be …_

Yes, what then?

Ahsoka was shocked to find that part of her _wanted_ Barriss to be executed. Not for her crimes against the jedi or the republic, but for the betrayal against herself.

 _How could you, Barriss?! I trusted you. Loved you, even, and you..._

She quickly and very forcefully buried these thoughts. Barriss had been her friend much longer than she had been a traitor and Ahsoka refused to believe all their happy memories had been lies.

Sighing, she hung her head. It was no use, getting worked up about things that may or may not come to pass.

 _Keep your mind here and now, where it belongs._

Ahsoka raised her head and took a deep breath.

 _Yes, master._

She'd worry about Barriss when she had to, not before.

 _Just please, Barriss, be alright_ , she prayed in a last moment of weakness, then forced a bright smile and jumped up from the sofa.

"I'm famished. How about you?"

Arkee slowly nodded. She had been watching the whole scene with some interest and now smiled in relief.

"I'm proud of you", she simply said, then turned and gestured Ahsoka to follow her.

Ahsoka didn't sleep well that night.

She was running down a long dark corridor. No doors, no light, just darkness and the resounding echo of her quick steps. She didn't know why she was running, or what from, but she kept running and running, always knowing that she was too slow, way too slow, and her time was running out, as was _'her'_ time.

Who was _'she'_? What ..?

The walls were coming closer. She couldn't see them, but they were closing in. The faster she ran, the quicker they moved. Soon, the corridor had become too narrow to run and she dropped down and crawled further into the never-ending abyss that was trying to squash her. The darkness swirled around her, tugged at her, first gently, then stronger, and suddenly, Ahsoka was drowning in a sea of pure black.

When the world stopped spinning, all was quiet, all still dark. In the distance, there were two lights, one green, one white, quickly coming closer.

They danced around her for a while, then took the shape of Barriss and Arkee. How? Why? But the questions didn't matter, nor did the answer to them. The three of them embraced and kissed each other and pure bliss raced through Ahsoka's mind as she let her hands glide through Barriss' black and Arkee's silvery-golden hair. So different, so beautiful, so dear to her. She felt something hard and cold – no, two somethings, one on her back, one on her belly. Just as she looked down to see what it was, Barriss ignited her lightsabre. Crimson light impaled Ahsoka from behind, and as she turned to look at the green figure behind her, Arkee ignited her own sabre. Silver light impaled Ahsoka from the front and horrid, shrill laughter filled her mind. She gasped and stared in disbelief at the grimaces she had found beautiful only instants ago, then her feet refused to carry her. She collapsed and fell … and finally could open her eyes.

The young Togruta was bathed in cold sweat. Her breath was quick and panicked, her heart raced. Eventually, she heard the soft breathing of Arkee's and the gentle touch and warmth of her white friend who was embracing her in her sleep.

A dream. It had only been a dream.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?", she mumbled half to herself, then briefly closed her eyes and forced herself to focus.

No, of course Arkee wouldn't. That dream had simply been a manifestation of her fear, it couldn't have been anything else, she refused to believe it could be anything else, and she could not allow fear to control her.

Ahsoka got up and left the room, leaving the soundly-sleeping Anzat on the big bed. She sat down on the table she had been tied to a couple days back, closed her eyes and meditated.

"Can't sleep?"

Ahsoka reopened her eyes. It was still dark outside. How long had she been sitting here? How long had Arkee been standing there?

"Bad dream", she mumbled.

"Barriss?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"And you."

"Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"No, was just a dream, I'll be alright."

Ahsoka sighed and turned towards her friend with the concerned voice.

"But ..."

She extended her arm.

"... could you hold me? Like, really tight?"

Arkee seemed surprised but didn't say anything. Gently embracing the quivering orange girl, she laid her head on top of her shoulders, pressed her to her chest and started to softly hum. Ahsoka did not recognise the tune but it caused tears to well up in her eyes. Silently crying, she simply listened to the soothing voice - a gentle voice, a caring voice, so very different from her dream.

After what must have been an eternity, Arkee stopped.

"Come", she simply said, "let's play a game, you and I."

"A - a game?"

"I think you could use the distraction."

With that, Arkee winked and released her grip on the Togruta.

"Come", she invited her again, then turned and started walking.

Ahsoka followed her secretive friend down a flight of stairs and into a big windowless room. As soon as they had entered a soft, dull light had spread throughout the empty black room.

Black? This must be the only black room in the entire apartment. Ahsoka was surprised it even existed. It seemed so unlike her friend with the white-fetish to have a black room at all.

She looked at Arkee who was grinning ear to ear.

"Black?"

Arkee nodded.

"Every then and now, I don't mind a break from all the white and grey and silver I'm surrounding myself with. Then I come here and remind myself that darkness has its very own kind of beauty."

Arkee blushed.

"But I haven't had anybody to come here with in ... a long time. A very long time."

Ahsoka wasn't even trying to make sense of what she had just been told, but judging by her friend's reaction, this was not your average dark room. In fact, it was kind of hot in here, and damp, as if they had entered the mouth of a gigantic beast.

"So, what _is_ this place?"

Arkee was fidgeting.

"A bath", she simply said.

"A - "

Suddenly, the room rumbled and a large part of the ground slid away and disappeared into a wall, revealing a pool. The pool had been painted black as well, and had it not been illuminated, Ahsoka could hardly have told the perfectly still water from the floor.

"A bath", she repeated, staring at the black pit.

She knelt down and felt the water. Hot, but not uncomfortable, she could definitely see herself relaxing in here. She stood back up and looked at her white friend.

Her eyes widened, then she looked down at herself. When they had entered the room, she hadn't noticed, but now that their skins were wet from the bath's steam and their sweat, it was kind of hard not to. In the weak light, they seemed to glow through the empty black room. A white star and an orange orange one.

"Ok, I'm impressed."

She marvelled at the illusion, watched their colours flicker across the room.

"This the game you wanted to play?"

Arkee simply smiled in response and Ahsoka watched as the secretive white star hovered back towards the door they had entered. She stopped in front of it and turned back to her.

"You do trust me, Ahsoka?", she asked.

"I -"

What? Why? Why now? What does ..?

Trying to gather her thoughts, Ahsoka swallowed a faint feeling of unease.

Had Arkee at any point during the last few days given her the impression of wanting her ill, Ahsoka would never have stuck around. She had no reason to mistrust her new friend and she felt no malice from her now either.

"I do."

If she had to worry, then she would worry when she had to, not before. That's what she had promised herself only hours ago, and she was not going to give up that easily.

"I do trust you, Arkee", she repeated with a firmer voice, almost as if to convince herself.

Arkee smiled and touched the wall.

"Remember that."

The door that had slid up when they entered came crashing down and the thud echoed throughout the dark room. She waited until it faded, then let go of the wall.

"BC-14-3, lock us down."

Heavy locks snapped into place and moments later, a mechanical voice reported.

"Lockdown complete. Default time limit: four standard hours."

 _Wha- ?_ Why? And what kind of bath had its own security system?

"Target species: Togruta, Anzat. Release supplements Orenth-25 and Herf-14"

 _Target species?!_

Ahsoka didn't like the sound of that, but Arkee simply grinned, then everything vanished. The lights had gone out and a heavy darkness swallowed them both, swallowed the pool, swallowed the ground they were standing on, swallowed the entire room. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, just a lone little Togruta girl and the darkness surrounding her.

"Arkee?"

There was a soft rustling, but beyond that, nothing.

"Arkee?!"

Something chuckled at a distance.

Ahsoka closed her eyes – not because it would have made any perceivable difference in what she could see, but it just seemed to help her concentrate.

Arkee was somewhere in front of her, bit at a distance, but her presence in the force was wavering.

"What are you doing?!"

Nothing, and it was making Ahsoka nervous.

"Talk to me! Are you alright?"

Another period of silence.

Finally, Arkee's presence in the force flickered and disappeared. Wait, that wasn't true; she first hadn't noticed because she was so focused on Arkee, but _everything_ she felt in the force was disappearing.

Her montrals informed her that something was encircling her, then they too failed her and stopped making sense. She was now blind, helpless … prey.

Feeling the adrenaline pumping into her veins, she noticed her breath was quickening, as was her pulse. She felt dizzy, all of a sudden.

"You're not going to run?"

Ahsoka flinched. Arkee was ... somewhere. Without the force or at least her montrals that she had relied on her entire life, it was difficult to say, and something was constantly making her lose focus.

A soft growling surrounded her.

"Do - do I have a reason to run?"

She took a step backwards, but where would she run? The room was sealed and the only solid ground to run on was a circle around the pool.

"That's the game, silly. You are the prrrey and I'm the nasty predator that's going to eat you."

Ahsoka took another couple steps back. Arkee was coming closer. Or was she? And where was she, anyway? Why...?!

Her heart jumped and all but stopped beating as she was suddenly embraced by something from behind.

"Gotcha!"

Hot lips kissed her on the cheek.

"You suck at this game."

"Arkee?! What's happening?! Why can't I -"

"Feel the force? Yes, funny thing, that. Used to know a jedi drop-out – oh, ages ago. Very strong in the force, but poor guy couldn't handle the visions the force granted him; apparently saw something so painful he almost went insane. Turned to deathsticks – strong hallucinogens – which he found out deadened his sense of the force for a while, stopped the visions. The jedi could, of course, not train a junkie who was preventing himself from feeling the force, so he left. When I found him, he was experimenting with drugs, trying to create something that would achieve a similar effect without the hallucinations. Eventually died of a drug overdose. He succeeded, though, all that's left is the dizziness you're feeling."

She kissed her again – on the neck, this time - and Ahsoka felt Arkee's hands going for her breasts.

"Don't worry, when he thought it funny to test it on me, I was very relieved to also find out the effects were temporary and quite harmless."

The invisible hands that had cupped her breasts were now moving up towards her throat, where they found the collar of her pyjama top. And as they slowly felt their way down the seam and clasped the topmost button to undo it, another hot kiss hazed her brain.

She reached over her shoulder where her blind fingers found what had to be the gold-topped head of her invisible white lover. Running her fingers through her hair, she gently caressed Arkee who nibbled on her lekku in response and undid another button, and another, then gently tugged on her top. Slowly, the silky fabric slid off her shoulders and fell to the ground, disappearing into the darkness that surrounded them.

Ahsoka gasped. The hot steam that now danced over her exposed skin and played with the rock hard nipples felt incredible - and it wasn't the only thing playing with them. She groaned as quick fingers firmly grasped the little buds on her breasts before they turned their attention to her chest as a whole.

Arkee's naked body felt cool in comparison to the hot steam the bath was giving off, and their sweat was making them slippery. Feeling those erect nipples poking into her back and softly massaging her with every movement of her lover made felt … indescribable. Normally, she would not have noticed such faint caresses at all, but here – robbed of her sight, of her grasp on the force and even of her trusted montrals – she found she was much more sensitive to touch.

She turned and hugged Arkee, kissing the first thing her lips would find.

Collar bone. Not good enough.

Her hands glided over the cool soft back and she was surprised by how fragile Arkee felt in this darkness. In the meantime, Arkee's hands had found her rear and they were massaging it, spreading a tickling feeling on her sensitive skin.

Ahsoka smiled and licked the darkness in front of her, then let her lips crawl up the sleek neck, over the small chin – up, where they finally found what they were looking for.

Their hungry mouths entwined and opened to allow wild tongues to battle each other. Ahsoka brought her hands up to play with the long golden hair she could not see.

So close, and they could not see each other, they could not feel each other in the force - nothing existed, nothing but their flesh, their hot black flesh clashing into each other, and she wanted more, she wanted closer, much closer. Pressing herself into the soft flesh, she drove Arkee into a wall. She hadn't noticed they were moving, nor did she care, all she wanted right now, was to get closer to Arkee.

Without ever stopping to kiss the black white lips, Ahsoka slid her leg in between Arkee's, drove her own body up and violently humped the pristine flesh in front of her into the wall.

 _More. More!_

She groaned.

 _More!_

They had to stop kissing, they needed air. Reluctantly, Ahsoka lifted her lips and immediately, their loud gasps filled the room.

Ahsoka licked Arkee's chin, then sucked on her neck, growling softly.

She hadn't thought it possible, but when Arkee started to squirm beneath her, she felt her hips speed up even more.

 _You're not escaping me!_

Her right hand found Arkee's breast and she gently twisted and pinched the hard nipple.

 _You're not escaping me! You're not!_

Surprising herself with how violently she craved the invisible Anzat, Ahsoka growled again, louder than before.

Arkee twitched and moaned, then shuddered as she reached her orgasm.

Ahsoka stopped and hugged her tightly. She hadn't reached her own peak yet, but she didn't care, she loved the vibrations her weakly moaning lover's twitching body was sending through her own and the soft push against herself she felt with each of Arkee's heavy breaths. She kissed her again and closed her eyes, but the white woman had other plans than to end it here.

Arkee rolled over and pressed Ahsoka against the wall she had been pressing her against. As their bodies separated, Ahsoka felt her licking her neck, almost as if apologising, then the hot tongue moved further down her invisible orange body.

She stood there and stared into the darkness, seeing absolutely nothing. The long tongue had reached her left nipple, and its caress was giving her goosebumps. After a while, it slid under her boob and down her belly, around her navel, into her navel, and out again.

Lean fingers seized her pyjama's pant at her waist and pulled the wet and sticky fabric down. Had she really still been wearing her pants? Had she really been so immersed in her attack on Arkee that she simply ... forgot?

She trembled with anticipation as the hot wet feeling detached itself from her navel and slid downwards and she caressed the slowly sinking head. Arkee's tongue was now only a couple fingers away from her most sensitive spot and she was breathing heavily.

 _Now. Now!_

Tilting her head up, she waited, but cruel Arkee curved – just before her tongue would have reached its target – and went for her leg, instead. Apparently enjoying the frustrated groans of the quivering Togruta, Arkee repeated the pattern a couple times.

 _Curse you, Arkee, I'm not getting any wetter!_

She bit her lip and endured until she couldn't endure it anymore, then grabbed her tormentor's head and violently yanked it into her crotch.

Soft lips spread her own lower lips and finally – finally – the hot wet feeling attacked the place she had been wanting it to.

"By – the – force!"

Passionate moans echoed throughout the darkness. Arkee was very _very_ skilled with her tongue and knew _exactly_ where and how to push her buttons. Hugging her tightly by the waist, Arkee's tongue relentlessly dove into the very depths of her lap.

Ahsoka heard something rip but couldn't focus enough to care. Gentle hands slowly forced her own onto her back and she let it happen. She also let the soft feeling that followed wrap itself around her hands and she didn't fight it when it tightened around her wrists either. Arkee must have destroyed what had been her pyjama's pants and was tying her up with its remains. Ahsoka didn't mind – quite on the contrary – the extra feeling of helplessness in this darkness was very erotic.

"Arkee", she breathed.

"Arkee, I'm -"

Another flick of her lover's tongue replaced the rest of her sentence with another passionate moan.

 _Fuck, yes!_

Ahsoka tilted her head upwards and … nothing. Arkee had suddenly stopped and although her lower body bucked in protest, release was denied to her.

"Arkee? Why dih-"

As suddenly as Arkee had stopped, she resumed her caress, and Ahsoka was quickly driven right back to the very brink she had been at before.

She bit her lips and her body tensed, but again, Arkee stopped just instants before she would have crossed the critical line.

"Why?!", the heavily panting little Togruta wailed into the darkness, that's all she could manage before another hot, wet touch robbed her of her breath.

Her body was aching. She needed, needed, needed, needed, _needed_ her release, and she needed it now, before she was losing her mind.

Grinding her hips desperately, she groaned as the soft torture device in-between her legs continued its work.

 _Don't stop! Don't you dare to stop! Don't you fucking -_

She felt her body tense again. Just a bit ...

"No!", she screamed, "damn you, Arkee!"

Her body was vibrating, shaking in frustration, but it was no use, she was denied another orgasm.

"You cruel schutta! You -"

And it continued.

Asoka howled and cursed. Had she been able to, she would long have shaken off the devious Anzat and rubbed herself to bliss, but the stupid wet cloth that bound her was surprisingly tough. Helplessly, her tired body struggled and jolted, but there was no way out and the darkness in her lap forced her to the very edge again and again and again.

"Please", she eventually broke down, "please, I'm sorry!"

Arkee switched to rubbing and licked her belly once.

"You say something, darling?"

"Please! I can't take this anymore!"

"Hmm ..."

Arkee flicked her tongue across Ahsoka's most sensitive spot and it sent shivers throughout her body.

"Whatever should I do?"

"I'm begging you!"

Her white tormentor feigned ignorance.

"Oh? And what are you begging me _exactly_?"

Touching Ahsoka lightly, she massaged her crotch.

"Be specific."

Ahsoka hesitated.

"Gemoff", she mumbled.

"Sorry, what?"

Again, the soft tongue flicked across the quivering Togruta's snitch.

"Get me off, please!"

"That's not very specific, is it?"

The darkness started to weakly suck on her mons. She couldn't take any more of this.

There was another instant of hesitation, but she very quickly caved and took a deep breath.

"Please suck my clit, bury your hot long tongue deep in my cunt and make me cum my brains out!", Ahsoka screamed. Any other time, she would now have died of shame, but right now, she couldn't care less, she was done waiting.

Slowly, the wet caress crept down and into her labia, where it found and massaged that little spot between her legs her white lover so adeptly took advantage of to make her feel both, the most wonderful moments and the most dreadful pains.

Which would it be this time?

"Don't stop", Ahsoka whispered as her hips started to softly rock in conjunction with the intensifying caress in her lap.

"Whatever you do, don't stop."

Her breath was wild and rugged, and her mind hazed with pleasure. In-between the moans Arkee tortured from her lips, Ahsoka continued to breathe the word 'please' over and over again, almost as if in a mantra.

There it was again, this dreaded edge.

 _I'll murder you, Arkee!_

Ahsoka bit her lip and tensed up.

 _If you stop again, I'll murder -_

She was flying.

Literally. The very moment Arkee had pushed her over the edge and just an instant before her body realised she was having what might just be the orgasm of her life, crazy Arkee had suddenly sprung to her feet, grabbed her and flung her into the darkness.

Hands still tied on her back, Ahsoka bucked and shrieked mid-air as the long-overdue release wrecked her little body and shredded her mind.

Everything drowned in white pleasure. Her body felt the adrenaline from falling in absolute darkness, but her mind didn't register it; her mind didn't register anything, it was just blank

Wildly spasming she flew for who knows how long before her body described an arc and gravity pulled the twitching Togruta back down. Even if her hands had not been tied, Ahsoka would have lacked the focus to break her fall. Fortunately, she was not required to as she landed in the pool with a loud splash. There, hovering through an unending abyss of heavy liquid, her climax eventually subsided and in its place, a soothing warmth comforted her broken flesh as once again, darkness surrounded her. Fighting to form coherent thoughts, the still-quivering orange girl let her body float up to the surface, where it was embraced and kissed.

"Arkee", Ahsoka said as she regained her breath, "you lunatic."

Long fingers gently stroked her face, then Arkee kissed her again and undid her bounds as she did.

"You wonderful lunatic."

Ahsoka hugged the darkness and was happy to feel her arms close around her Anzati friend. Surrounded by all that hot water, the invisible white body felt almost cold, and Ahsoka loved the chill their embrace sent through her nipples.

Pressing and rubbing against each other, they twirled and danced, more laughing than moaning as their flesh clashed. They didn't bother with touching each other in a particular place or in a particular pattern, anymore, their desires were base, primitive, simple: they wanted more of each other. And more. And more. And although occasionally, one of them would shudder in orgasm, neither of them was satisfied and they quickly continued. Until … _it_ happened.

Ahsoka didn't quite know how to describe it, but as the hot water heated up their bodies and they stopped feeling a difference between the temperature of the water and their own, the boundary between their beings disappeared and their entities ... overlapped, they merged. The darkness melted them down and made them one, fused their very cores together. There was no water anymore, no flesh, no room. Everything was darkness and they were the darkness, they were everything and they were one.

She was tired, and quite likely, it was simply their prolonged exposure to complete darkness messing with her mind, but she didn't care. It felt amazing and more satisfying than anything they had done to each other in this room

After a while, the illusion subsided and eventually ceased, and when it did, neither of them had any strength or desire to continue. Gently embracing each other, they simply floated through the darkness, never moving, never speaking, and enjoyed the simple act of existing.


	3. Ch3 - Day of Surprises

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.3: Day of Surprises**

The hall was large and dimly lit. In fact, Ahsoka noticed as she looked up, the only source of light seemed to be the small window in the ceiling high above. Too small for a person to fit through, it allowed but a narrow beam of light to cut down through the darkness where it hit a small platform. Glowing from the light it reflected, the platform was a small star in a sea of black, gently illuminating the rest of the room.

From the platform, a single narrow walk led to a heavy durasteel door. On the other side of the door, there would be another, with more than enough space in-between them for a group of five, six people. The doors were constructed such that neither could be unlocked until the other was locked – whoever entered and exited this place needed explicit permission to do so.

Ahsoka was standing at the very edge of the platform, facing the entry.

In front of her, two energy pillars stood ready to bind shackles to them with enough force that every attempt to break free of them, once chained, could just as well have been an attempt to rip off one's own arms.

And behind her, an abyss. She knew that far, far below, there would be water, but whoever fell down here, never came back up. This was a graveyard and mixed into the liquid was the blood and the bodies of those who had already taken the last walk.

She stood at ready when she heard the outer door slide open. Protocol must be observed and she owed her guest at least this much respect.

The outer door came crashing down and as the thud still echoed throughout the empty space, the inner door slowly slid up.

Six people entered – one leading, four others surrounding the sixth – and behind them the inner door closed with a heavy boom.

The four heavily armoured guards stood aside and aimed their weapons at the person they had been surrounding, while the lighter-armoured guy that had led them led the green-skinned female in the thin white robe across the narrow walk. If the captive so much as twitched the wrong way, they would shoot her, even at risk of killing the fifth guard.

But no such thing happened. Barriss quietly walked through the darkness, her head hung, her eyes averted, until they reached the platform. The light glittered in her beautiful short black hair as she knelt down and let the guard chain her shackles to the energy pillars. She didn't say anything and Ahsoka didn't move.

Satisfied with how the shackles were held in place, the guard turned and left the young Miralan with her arms spread to the sides kneeling in front of the silent Togruta.

Slow steps echoed throughout the room as he walked back across the narrow walk and joined the other guards who had never stopped aiming at Barriss.

Ahsoka turned on the large vibro-ax she had been holding to her side and it sprung to life with a sinister hum. The weapon was way too large to be of any practical use in combat and way too ornate for a tool of war; the only reason it was designed that way, was to impress.

But Barriss wasn't impressed. She raised her head and closed her eyes, obviously enjoying the warm light's gentle caress on her face. After a while, tears began to stream down her face and they silently ran down her slender neck.

Just as Barriss opened her eyes, Ahsoka raised her axe.

"Ahsoka?", Barriss whispered, then smiled; she smiled the brightest smile Ahsoka had ever seen on her, and it radiated pure joy and peacefulness.

She never stopped smiling. Barriss smiled when Ahsoka had raised the axe all the way up, and she smiled when Ahsoka brought it down on her. She smiled as the axe bit deep into her flesh, she smiled as the blood left her body and spewed everywhere, she smiled - right up to the very moment the light left her eyes.

The axe she had diagonally driven down into the small Miralan made a terrible sound when Ahsoka removed it from the corpse that was now split from the shoulder down to the navel.

"Barriss?"

She let go of the axe and let it fall over the edge of the platform and disappear into the darkness, then she slumped down onto her knees. She caressed her dead friend's face with quivering fingers.

"Barriss?!"

The energy shackles that held the body up powered down with a loud knocking noise and the green flesh fell forward. The lifeless black-haired head came to rest in Ahsoka's lap.

 _No._

The still-flowing blood quickly permeated her clothes, but she didn't even notice it, nor would she have cared if she had. She picked up the quickly-cooling carcass and pressed it to her chest.

"Barriss!"

 _No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This was wrong! This couldn't be! She couldn't have..._

"Barriss!", she screamed again, but the dead don't hear, nor do they answer.

Crying, she softly rocked back and forth, hugging the green corpse, kissing the dead face, the still-smiling dead face.

"No!"

 _Why?! How?!_

Lacking answers to each of her thousand questions, she could do nothing but scream and cry and howl in pain.

A corner of her consciousness warned her that she should let go of the corpse as the trapdoor used to dispose of the executed was about to be activated, but how could she let go of Barriss?

"Please! Wake up!"

This was stupid, she couldn't possibly expect any response.

"Please!"

But her pain was not rational. Any moment now, Barriss would wake up, any moment. And when she did, Ahsoka would kiss her and tell her how very sorry she was.

"Please."

Finally, her voice failed and sobs replaced her idiotic pleads.

Loud clicks should have informed her that the trapdoor was now activated, but she didn't care; she didn't care about anything anymore. They would not be separated again, never again. She would stay with Barriss until she woke up; she still needed to apologise for killing her best friend. And they would laugh together again, they would leave this nightmare behind them. She could introduce her to Arkee and together, they could forget all about the stupid jedi, all about the stupid republic and its stupid war with its stupid deaths, she just needed to be patient.

She kissed Barriss again and hugged her tightly as gravity pulled the both of them into the black hole that opened beneath them and the abyss swallowed the two females in an instant.

* * *

Ahsoka was crying when she woke up.

Ever since the senate had reinstituted the death penalty, nightmares had haunted her dreams. Only now did she start to realise how little she had thought about Barriss when she had left the Jedi order. She had been too occupied with feeling sorry for herself, but now that Arkee had taught her to enjoy her own life again, it seemed her mind was free to worry about the friend who had betrayed her.

 _Barriss..._

Ahsoka slipped out of the bed – carefully, so as to not wake her soundly sleeping Anzati lover – and left the room.

She didn't bother to turn on the light as she found her way to the training room. What her montrals didn't reveal to her, the force would. And also, ever since that … frisky bath with Arkee in the black room, Ahsoka felt a certain comfort in the dark.

As she entered the training room, she let one of her sabres fly into her hand.

For almost two weeks, she and Arkee had done nothing but train Ahsoka's proficiency with the swords – well, that and some wonderfully naughty games in the night, Ahsoka remembered herself with a grin. She had noticed that the time Arkee had been trained as a jedi was completely different from today, with a lot more emphasis on sword combat – probably because the threat from the sith had been much more recent – and her white friend knew a lot of things they didn't bother teaching anymore because few of the jedi's enemies today had much of a chance against them in close combat and it was more prudent to first teach young jedi things that would help keep them alive. The lessons would prove very useful against these _'shadows'_ , though, should they ever find them.

Ahsoka ignited her sabre and a single silver blade illuminated the dark room.

Recently, and despite – or perhaps due to – Ahsoka's preference for two sabres, Arkee insisted she fought with one.

"TC-21, start a training session", Ahsoka commanded the room, "highest intensity."

"Programming training for level 14", a mechanical voice replied, "session starting in 3..2..1.."

Part of the wall slid aside to reveal two man-sized droids that sprung to life and ignited a lightsabre each.

Readying her sabre, Ahsoka took an aggressive stance. Fortunately, the room was sound-proofed, so she didn't need to hold back and could let off some steam without waking Arkee.

She didn't wait for the droids to attack her and charged. Her thin pyjama was entirely insufficient as armour, but that was alright, the droids would not be able to touch her, anyway, not tonight.

Still, they proofed more of a challenge than Ahsoka had expected. Perhaps it was the fact she was training in the dark, which meant she had to rely much more on both, her montrals and the force, than if she had trained with light, but more likely, the problem was her constant thinking about her dream.

 _She_ had been the executor, _she_. She hadn't simply witnessed the scene, _she_ had been the very person to strike at Barriss. Why? Why would she want to hurt her friend who bombed innocent people and then framed her and got her very nearly convicted of … alright, she did know why.

She hacked at one of the droids as she whirled around the other.

But obviously, she didn't _want_ Barriss dead, not entirely, or else the sorrow towards the end of the dream wouldn't have felt so real.

 _Dodge, parry, take this!_

Catching one of the droids' lightsabre with her own, Ahsoka force-pushed the droid so hard it broke when it crashed into the wall. Damn, Arkee would have her head for this.

The question, thus, was which part of her was stronger? How would she react if she were to see Barriss? Did she want to see Barriss at all?

The remaining droid proved stubborn – no, she was just lacking focus – still, it was irritating her.

 _Stop distracting me, you piece of junk, I need to think._

Unleashing a barrage of blows, she wanted to end the fight, but her attacks lacked precision and the droid blocked them easily.

 _Barriss..._

The image of the green traitor flickered in front of her eyes. Beautiful Barriss, gentle Barriss … deceiving Barriss, betraying Barriss.

She parried another heavy blow, then tried to stab the droid, but the droid evaded and was behind her in the blink of an eye.

Ahsoka wheeled around, but she couldn't possibly be fast enough to deflect the droid's sabre, so she let herself fall to the ground and rolled away.

"Just die already! Die!"

Back on her feet, Ahsoka force-ripped the mechanical arm that was holding the sabre out of the droid, then swung her own lightsabre at it. The droid was built for lightsabre training and thus constructed to withstand a sabre, and indeed, her weapon hit the droid without doing much damage.

"Training session ended", a mechanical voice reported, but Ahsoka didn't listen and let go of her sabre. Using the force to both, shield her hands and increase the impacts, she started to beat the shit out of the helpless heap of junk.

"Die! Die! Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, _die!_ "

When she finally stopped, the unshapely metal thing that had once been a droid fell over with a loud clunk. That would teach him.

Exhausted and heavily breathing, Ahsoka sank down onto her knees and laid down. It had felt good to just let it all out, but it hadn't solved her problem, she still didn't know what to do.

She would think about it some more, but first, she would catch her breath and rest her eyes a moment, just a moment. She didn't want to sleep, sleeping meant risking another nightmare, and she had had nothing but nightmares, lately, but despite herself, she quickly dozed off right there, surrounded by the debris of the mechanical training aids she had destroyed.

And that's how Arkee found her in the morning.

"You know, these things are expensive", she complained, tongue in cheek, then knelt down to pet Ahsoka's head.

"Another nightmare?"

Ahsoka stared at the white sun with the worried face.

"Arkee", she whispered weakly, "kiss me."

Taken by surprise, Arkee blushed, but did as asked and gifted the little Togruta a hot kiss on the lips.

Yes, this was it, she needed this after her nightmares, she needed to feel the warmth of a person she cared about and wasn't killing. Pulling herself up, she hugged the white Anzat, then pushed her to the ground, never breaking the kiss.

Eventually, their lips needed to part – if only to allow them to breathe – and when they did, Arkee giggled and gently caressed Ahsoka's face.

"My, you're aggressive, this morning."

"I -"

Ahsoka hesitated. Part of her wanted to assault the unsuspecting Anzat beneath her, rip the clothes off her soft white body and rape her senseless.

Another part of her, however, shuddered at these thoughts. Her mind had been darker, as of late, and it wasn't right to take out her frustration on Arkee. She played with her lover's beautiful golden hair and smiled when she noticed how so simple an act immediately lifted her mood.

"I really needed this kiss."

She kissed her again, more briefly this time, then stood up and helped Arkee onto her feet.

"I'm sorry about the droids."

Arkee grinned.

"Don't worry, at least you showed them."

Gesturing towards the entry, she asked: "You feel like breakfast?"

"You know", Arkee said at the table, "I've shown you just about everything I know about lightsabre combat. The only way you'll improve further is by constant and boring repetition, consolidating what you've learned until your body all but acts on its own."

She gulped down a bite and looked at the puzzled Togruta who was trying to figure out what she was getting at.

"So I was thinking, how about we take your training outside, for a change, tried something different?"

"Outside? Won't two girls running around with lightsabres draw attention?"

Arkee grinned.

"Who said anything about lightsabres?"

And that's all she would say about her plans.

After breakfast, they dressed in their usual wetsuits in black and grey and wearing black boots and black gloves. And despite Arkee's earlier remark, they both had their sabres on their belts. A mere precaution, Arkee had assured her.

Standing in front of the large window they had first met, they looked down on the city as they helped each other to apply some gel to each other's faces and necks.

"It's cold up here", Arkee said, "this will offer at least some protection. Not for long, but still... "

The nimble fingers carefully slid over Ahsoka's hind lek, which tickled comfortably.

"But wouldn't it be simpler to just wear helmets?"

The white woman groaned.

"Yes, helmets would protect us, but I hate them. They are suffocating, they impede your vision and you can't feel the wind in your hair nor the sun on your face."

She shook her head.

"I want to feel free when I do this, not caged."

Ahsoka tilted her head.

"You still haven't told me what _this_ is, exactly."

Arkee grinned again

"Oh, we're just taking a trip to an old acquaintance on the lower levels."

And with that, she turned to the room's control.

"U7, the window. And yes, disable your stupid warnings."

No mechanical voice replied this time – Ahsoka was wondering whether U7 was pouting, then chuckled as she reminded herself droids usually weren't programmed to pout – but the window slid open in reply to Arkee's command and only moments later, a cold breeze forced filled the room.

"Ready?", Arkee shouted but she didn't wait for a reply.

Grabbing the little confused Togruta by the waist, she jumped out of the window, pulling Ahsoka with her.

"Wha-"

She should have been screaming, but Ahsoka was too shocked to scream.

Then again, they also should be falling and yet, her mind slowly registered, they weren't.

Looking down, she noticed she was standing on nothing, as Arkee was standing on nothing. Gravity seemed to have taken a holiday.

"What the fuuuuuck?!"

Finally, she was composed enough to scream again.

"Arkee!", she shouted at her chuckling friend, "I still need my heart!"

The laughter was light and joyful and although still confused, Ahsoka couldn't stay mad for long.

"One day, you'll be the death of me", Ahsoka complained.

With a lot of effort, Arkee somehow managed to stop laughing and looked at the orange teen who was now blushing in embarrassment. She hugged, then kissed her midair.

"But not today."

Ahsoka carefully moved her legs. There really was nothing.

"Why aren't we falling? These boots have any anti-gravitational boosters I don't know about?"

"No", Arkee simply replied, "our clothes have no function but to protect us from the cold – and shield us from lecherous eyes."

"Then -"

"Currently, I'm keeping the both of us up."

"You can do that?!"

"Oh come on, Ahsoka, haven't you heard your masters repeat over and over again that size didn't matter to us? I've seen some of _my_ masters pull entire battleships out of the sky, back then, and although I never learned to do that, don't you think we're at least a bit lighter than that?"

She had a point.

"Well, master Yoda always used to say 'do or do not, there is no try'. I had assumed that to be some kind of encouragement, not to be taken literally."

"Which one is he?"

"Come again?"

"That Yoda guy, I remember the name but I can't seem to recall his face."

"Oh, er..."

She had never needed to describe master Yoda, everybody has always known him.

"Little. Green. Long pointy ears...", she tried, "... and old enough to be your little brother, give or take a few centuries."

Ahsoka blushed.

"Doesn't look nearly as good, though."

They laughed.

"Oh, I remember", Arkee exclaimed, then tried her best to imitate Yoda's voice.

"Learned my grammar, in all these years, I have not."

"Yup, that's him. "

"Too busy, I was, with chasing skirts of padawans' twice my size."

Ahsoka looked at her grinning friend. Yoda, a womaniser?

She imagined a green ball excitedly hopping after 'padawan Aayla' and laughed, but only briefly because she soon felt guilty for that imagination.

"A-anyway, if we're not committing suicide, what are we doing out here?"

"Told you, we're training and visiting am old acquaintance of mine who's living on the lower levels.

Quite unexpectedly, a strong feeling of unease took hold of Ahsoka.

"And how are we planning on reaching the lower levels?"

Arkee took an injector out of a pouch on her belt and held it up.

"You know what this is?"

Ahsoka eyed the orange liquid in the injector carefully.

"No clue, but I'm sure you're about to tell me."

Arkee pressed the injector to her neck and with a loud click, the liquid disappeared. She let go of the injector and watched it fall out of sight. Then she hugged and kissed the dumbfounded Ahsoka.

"That, darling, was a weakened version of the drug we breathed during our bath in the dark."

Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat.

"When it kicks in, I won't have any control over the force for about three, four minutes."

She looked down.

"Which I can assure you is longer than it takes for us to hit the ground."

Their hovering had been perfectly still ever since they had jumped out of the window, but now, their bodies were quivering and unsteady.

"I cannot save us. If you want us to live, make us fly."

Still in shock, Ahsoka looked at the white Anzat whose beautiful golden hair danced in the wind and whose face showed how difficult it has become for her to keep them from falling. Arkee smirked.

"Don't look so worried, I've shown you that it's possible."

Don't look so worried?! They were hovering way too high for Ahsoka not to worry. Every quick beat off her heart sent a loud thump through her entire body and her veins contained more adrenaline than blood!

They were lurching, now, but Arkee didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"It's a beautiful sight", she said, looking around, "don't you think?"

Ahsoka gulped down as much of her unease as she could and looked. Yes, yes it was. The city gleamed and blinked in the gentle light of the sun and in the distance, the tall buildings seemed more like mountains than artificial constructions.

For a moment, she almost forgot they were about to fall to their deaths, then Arkee pulled her close and kissed her again.

"If this was our last kiss, I couldn't be happier about the scenery."

She smiled and but instants later, they were rushing downward.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Ahsoka was screaming. Both, her body and her mind were shaking in fear as they plunged into nothingness. She couldn't see the ground from up here. Instead, the city below them seemed to disappear in darkness as the light couldn't reach the spots between the tall buildings.

The crazy bitch whom she was falling alongside, however, was impressively unimpressed and laughed.

"Don't worry, it's still a long way down."

"You know", Ahsoka screamed back, trying her best not to panic, "most people would find that a reason to worry!"

Her white friend gracefully pirouetted.

"Most people aren't trained in the force. Now concentrate."

 _Oh, right,_ concentrate _. It's as simple as that. Just ignore the fact you're falling to your death and concentrate._

Hang on, it _was_ that easy.

Ahsoka closed her eyes.

 _Come on, Ahsoka, you've lifted things both heavier and larger than you with no effort at all, what's to hinder you from lifting yourself and your suicidal lover? You've used the force to help you jump incredible distance and to move at amazing speed, how is this different? Feel the force around you. Ignore the distraction of your fall. Let it -_

"...der."

 _Sorry,what was that?_

"Ahsoka! Watch out for the fucking speeder!"

 _Speeder?_

Ahsoka opened her eyes just in time to notice the solid vehicle's missing her by less than a hand's width.

 _Oh, speeder._

The orange girl laughed nervously. They had fallen far enough to end up in traffic. Wonderful, she needed that.

"What did I tell you about closing your eyes when focussing?!"

 _Yeah, no kidding._

"Anyway, you might want to hurry up", Arkee remarked, then started to sing.

"No more time to try, it's do or die! Just you and me, trapped in eternity..."

"Is that any time to sing?!", Ahsoka interrupted her macabre friend, "What if I can't?!"

"Then we both end as very ugly stains in the ground in ... well, pretty soon.

Ahsoka looked at the falling woman beside her. This was madness, Arkee had to be messing with her, she had to be having a backup plan.

"Clock's ticking, darling. I can almost feel my body splatter."

 _Madness!_

Her heart was racing. They were flying alongside tall buildings, she could see the people exclaiming and pointing at them as they watched the two females fall. Her earlier ease was gone and she was struggling to stay conscious. They were dead, they were so dead.

 _Feel the force, direct it upwards, let it flow through you._

It wasn't working, she was nowhere calm enough to concentrate.

 _Damn you, I'm not dying! Not like this!_

Her attempts became more violent. She was done asking nicely, she _commanded_ the force to carry them.

 _Up, damnit! Up!_

She could now see the ground coming closer, their time was running out. To her surprise, that realisation didn't cause despair but rather ... anger?

Anger at Arkee for making her do this, anger at herself for failing, anger at the force for refusing her. She looked at Arkee who was smiling and silently watching her. If she didn't do anything, the beautiful face would soon be torn to pieces and the long golden hair stained with crimson blood. Arkee seemed perfectly at peace now, but soon, the joy would leave the grey eyes, their light forever extinguished. This was unacceptable, she couldn't allow this.

 _I am Ahsoka Tano, the force will obey me!_

A strange calmness spread throughout her mind and she felt cold.

They were already too low. If she halted their fall, the sudden stop would crush their bodies midair, but if she didn't, ...

But she wasn't nervous, she wasn't afraid, why would she be? Instead of halting their fall, she curved it back up into the air, using both gravity and the force to slow them down.

She repeated this pattern a couple times and when they eventually touched the ground, it felt no more violent than a carefully taken step.

For a moment, they simply stood there, then Arkee embraced and kissed her.

"You did it! We're alive!"

She laughed and kissed the stunned Togruta again.

"You're wonderful!"

Ahsoka noticed Arkee was sweating and she felt her friend's heart's violent and quick thumping. Had she actually been nervous?

"You... really couldn't have slowed our fall if I had failed."

She gawked at her joyfully laughing lover who kissed her once more.

"But you didn't. You conquered your fear, turned your anger into power and now stand victorious over the certain death I had brought upon us. I'm so very proud of you."

Suddenly, Ahsoka felt faint and her legs didn't want to carry her anymore, but Arkee held her tightly and prevented her from slumping.

"Stand", she said, "and hold your head high. A Jedi, clinging to the light side of the force, could not have done this, not when we already were that low."

Ahsoka stared into the sky. She couldn't even see the top of the building they had passed last.

"We - we jumped from up there."

Her voice was calm, but her heart was not. She pointed into the sky.

"We fell all the way down here from up there."

She gawked again at the crazed white Anzat.

"We could have died."

It had been obvious, but only now was her mind truly registering what they had just done.

There was a moment of silence, then Arkee started laughing again. After a while, Ahsoka realised she must have sounded like an idiot, blushed and grinned.

"Why would you do that?", Ahsoka asked as they were walked through the filthy streets, "put your life into my hands like that?"

Arkee shrugged.

"Fear must be real to be useful. Had I only faked the situation, you would have felt it, rendering the whole exercise pointless."

She smiled.

"Don't look so worried, I knew you could do it."

Arkee led down a narrow alley and across a small plaza. The people were all quiet and many dirty, just as the place itself. Here lived the poorest on Coruscant. Whoever had the money to do so either quickly moved onto a higher level – where the air was cleaner, the view was better and the chance to live through a night without getting killed in some drug gangs' conflicts higher – or was soon found dead, the money missing. Amidst all the misery surrounding them, they had to be veritable beacons, and yet, Ahsoka noticed, hardly anybody seemed to take any special interest in the white- and orange-skinned females who had fallen from the sky. In fact, the people parted in front of them to allow them to walk by more quickly.

 _They are afraid_ , Ahsoka thought, _anybody who dared stand out, down here, had to be dangerous and trouble. So they get out of the way, avert their eyes and pray to survive._

She pitied them. But surprisingly, she was also angry.

Fools! Weak, spineless fools who'd rather lie down and be trod on than stand up for themselves. Who down here would help them if they themselves would not?!

That was unfair; she knew that and quickly let go of these thoughts. Most any species was driven by a desire to survive, sentient or not.

A few alleys later, they took a public elevator up a couple levels and Ahsoka was surprised by how different the city had become. The people behaved more normally and they started to draw attention. So much, in fact, that Arkee bought them black cloaks in a nearby shop, and they continued hooded.

She herself would long have lost her way, but Arkee seemed to know precisely, where she was going. Ahsoka started to wonder about that acquaintance, Arkee wanted to meet. And more importantly, why Arkee would want her to meet the person.

But Arkee said nothing and she wouldn't ask. After all, everything would soon become clear.

Arkee stopped in front of a small door. There was nothing particular about the door and if not for the two tall and armed men guarding it, it would not have stood out at all. A small red holobanner above it read _'Welcome to Heaven'_.

"Excuse me, Miss", one of the guards approached Arkee, "but if you're planning on entering heaven, I must ask you to please behave yourself and be polite to the staff."

"Yuh", the other grunted, "or we's gonna break you's bones and shoot youse dead."

"Shut up, Ralf!", the first one snapped, "boss told us to say it that way. 'Say it _exactly_ like this', he says. 'No intimidating customers', he says. I even wrote a fucking card to remember it."

"Suhrry", the one called Ralf made a sad face, "me's not gonna do again. Me's gonna remember too, aright? Me's gonna be very... not intimidating."

The first guard huffed and turned back to Arkee who was doing her best to suppress a chuckle. Ahsoka knew, because she was too.

"Please forgive my partner, Miss. Anyway, if this is acceptable and you do enter heaven, Ralf and I hope you will enjoy yourselves."

"And wese hope youse gonna come again soon.", Ralf thundered.

"Shut up, Ralf, we're supposed to say that when they leave."

"Suhrry."

They respectfully waited until the door had closed behind them, then finally allowed themselves to snort and break into laughter.

"What was that? ", Ahsoka asked.

"No idea, they weren't here the last time I visited."

Arkee shrugged.

Ahsoka looked around. The entry hall was small but surprisingly bright. There were small plants with beautiful pink blossoms all along the walls. An expensive-looking red carpet extended from the door to a small counter, to either side of which a narrow flight of stairs led up. The carpet split in the middle of the room to curve around a large statue of a naked female Twi'lek on her knees who was striking a sexy pose and facing the entry.

Behind the counter, there was a young but beautiful blue-skinned woman with bright pupil-less red eyes and shoulder-long black hair who patiently waited for them to walk up to her. Not Pantoran, but ... Chiss?!

Ahsoka tried her best to hide her curiosity. She had read about the Chiss, of course, and about their affiliation with the Sith Empire nearly 4'000 years ago, but they were a secretive and isolationist people and rarely - if ever - ventured outside the Chiss-controlled territory of the Ascendancy. She could not even guess what a Chiss was doing on Coruscant.

"Welcome to The Heaven, the finest establishment on all of Coruscant, my ladies. My name is Crystal and I am ever at your service. How can we please you today?"

"Crystal?", Arkee seemed surprised, "little Crystal? My goodness, you've grown beautiful."

The red eyes betrayed no emotion, but Ahsoka felt the young Chiss' confusion.

"You are very kind, my lady. Please forgive this unworthy servant for not remembering, but do we know each other?"

"I remember you", Arkee replied, "but the last time I saw you, you were just a wee little thing. It is not surprising you should forget."

Arkee put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"I am Arkee, this is Ahsoka."

"Arkee?",the blue woman rolled the name on her tongue, then suddenly, her red eyes widened, "aunty Arkee?!"

Dropping the servant act, the young female all but leapt over the counter and embraced Arkee.

"I remember, it's so good to see you!"

Arkee smiled as she put her hands around the happy Chiss who seemed so very different from before.

"Yes, it's good to see you too, my little Crystal."

When they ended their embrace, the blue female skipped over to Ahsoka and also embraced the dumbfounded Togruta.

"I'm very happy to make your acquaintance, Ahsoka", she said, then let go of her and turned to Arkee again.

"Just wait until I tell him, dad's not going to believe it."

And with that, she ran around the counter and disappeared through the door behind it.

Ahsoka just stood there, still trying to figure out what just happened.

"Wha-"

Arkee chuckled.

"It's good to see she didn't lose her fire during all these years. I was afraid living down here would break her spirit."

Ahsoka had more questions than answers and she was still shocked by how quickly Crystal had changed her demeanour.

"What is this place?"

"Well, I guess you could call it a hotel with optional benefits."

"A -"

Ahsoka gawked at her white friend. She was doing this a lot, today.

"You mean Crystal's ..."

"Crystal? I doubt it. Her father wouldn't let her, even if she wanted to. Then again, she's always been headstrong, and if she's retained that as well and felt playful... maybe."

Arkee grinned.

"I've seen your looking at her. You're interested in seeing what's beneath her purple dress? I could ..."

The orange Togruta gasped then blushed.

"Arkee!"

"Such a pity", Arkee laughed, "I think she likes you."

Ahsoka's head was burning and she opened her mouth to retaliate.

"Come on, daddy, come on, come on, come on!"

Crystals excited voice echoed from the door she had disappeared into. A deeper, calmer voice answered her.

"Take it easy, Crystal, I'm not the youngest anymore. She'll still be there if we go at a pace that won't give me a heart attack."

"Aw, move your legs, already!"

Arkee grinned.

"Nope, hasn't changed at all."

Ahsoka stared at the door, her mouth still open. She still couldn't believe this impatient voice belonged to the same girl who had first gets them so formally and humbly.

She half expected the young Chiss to come dancing out of the door, but Crystal walked very gracefully. An act - Ahsoka could still feel her excitement. They must not be aware they were heard.

Another blue figure followed. If the male Chiss was old, his body sure knew how to hide it. Sure, there were a lot more wrinkles and he moved more slowly, but his short hair was pitch black and his red eyes revealed a very clear presence.

"Arkee!", he bellowed so loud it almost hurt, then moved over to her and ... picked her up at the waist?!

"Ha-ha!", he exclaimed as he whirled her around, "how I envy you Anzati. You don't look a day older, little fly - could almost rival my Crystal in beauty."

"Almost?"

"Well", the apparently not-so-old-and-weak Chiss mumbled, "she's my daughter, you know I have to say that."

"Daddy?!", Crystal protested.

Arkee grinned as the anxious blue male hastily put her back down and coughed.

"It's good to see you too, Zor"

"Been way too long, little fly. I was almost expecting to have seen the last of you. What did you bring me this time? Is it interesting?"

Arkee put her hand on the seriously confused Togruta's shoulder and pushed her closer to Zor.

"Her name is Ahsoka, and she's _very_ interesting."

Zor eyed Ahsoka head to toes.

"Oh! This is beautiful. You have a good taste, little fly. Togruta, eh?"

He smiled at the orange girl.

"Welcome, Ah-Soka. Any friend of Arkee's is a friend of mine."

"H-Hello", Ahsoka stuttered, that's all she could manage.

The scene was absurd. Today, it seemed, always had one more surprise in store for her. Zor and his daughter were so surreal, so very different from what she had expected, and it left her stunned.

"You remember, we're just a humble hotel, but we also offer … massages to those of our guests who would appreciate it. We have females of a lot of species, one more beautiful than the other, all very skilled and capable of giving you pleasure the like of which you've never experienced.", Zor said to Arkee, "can I interest you in some relaxation before you go down?"

He turned back to Ahsoka.

"How about it, Ah-Soka? You like my daughter? I wouldn't offer her to just anybody, you know. But since you're with Arkee..."

Ahsoka couldn't say anything, she was too shocked. She first looked at Crystal, who seemed at least as surprised as she was, but who then silently blushed and stared at the ground.

 _The fuck?! Don't tell me you're fine with this!_

She then looked at Arkee who was grinning ear to ear.

 _Help me._

Arkee laughed.

"I think you're going a tad too fast for her. The poor girl's still confused."

"Oh!", Zor made and let go of Ahsoka's shoulders.

 _Thank you, Arkee._

"I guess you should first go down, then, and she can have my daughter when she's feeling less confused."

" _If_ she wants to have her, Zor, _if_."

"What do you mean, _if_?"

He grabbed Ahsoka by the very shoulders he had just let go of and looked her into the eyes. Big red balls of fire invaded Ahsoka's sight.

"Hey you, Ah-Soka, you think my daughter's ugly?! You saying my Crystal is not desirable, is that it?!"

"N-No, I -"

"Ha! See? No problem at all."

Zor straightened back up and Ahsoka breathed in relief as she watched him walk around the counter. Crystal was still blushing and looked at Ahsoka.

 _What?! Give me a break! Girl, you're as crazy as your father!_

"Here, Crystal, lead them down", Zor said as he handed his daughter a small security card, "Arkee will know what we have and what she wants Just bring her what she requires, then prepare a ghostwalk for the both of them. I'll have Terr'ah man the counter, in the meantime."

Crystal happily took the card and nodded.

"Oh, and Arkee", he said and turned to the white Anzat, "I'll be opening one of my finest, in my office. Don't keep me waiting another nine years after you've finished, we have a lot of catching-up to do, little fly."

"I wouldn't dare", Arkee answered with a smirk.

Crystal never stopped talking for longer than it took to fill her lungs with just enough air to continue without suffocating. She seemed to want to tell Arkee nine years worth of story in the about five minutes it took them to to walk down the dark flight of stairs. Arkee seemed genuinely interested and listened politely to the excited Chiss, Ahsoka on the other hand, did not. Quite on the contrary, the fact she didn't know this Crystal and wouldn't have been able to understand half of what she was saying, her being preoccupied with Arkee and the absence of her monstrosity of a father finally allowed her to think - and she had a lot to process.

So there were Chiss on Coruscant.

Ahsoka glanced at Crystal. In her mind, she apologised for staring, but she hadn't had terribly much time to look at her and she was curious about the rare species.

Crystal was a bit taller than her and she more bounced than walked, but that was just her being happy, not anything characteristic for the race. Her red eyes were, of course, impossible to miss and Ahsoka was quite fascinated by them. She had, seen a pair of them up close when that nutcase of a Chiss had tried to push his daughter on her, but there had been other things on her mind, then.

For a while, she just marvelled at the ruby eyes almost glowing in the dimly-lit corridor, then forced herself to look away. Crystal's skin looked smooth and she wondered if her body will feel cold like the water of which it's colour reminded her.

She reached towards the blue girl's arm to check, then quickly stopped herself.

Curious or not, she couldn't do that.

Her eyes followed the blue arm upwards and down her ornate purple and golden dress. Finally, they came to rest on the young Chiss' breast.

 _You're interested in seeing what's beneath her purple dress? I could ..._ ,Arkee's voice echoed through her mind.

Ahsoka blushed and shook her head, averting her eyes.

 _No! We're not going there._

Still, she couldn't help wondering what colour Crystal's nipples had. were they as blue? Darker? Lighter? And if you squeezed them, would Crystal..?

 _Stop!_

She violently silenced her thoughts and forced herself to speculate about how their training here would be like. However, she could still feel her head burning all the way to the small security door at the end of the corridor.

Crystal slid the card through the reader, then pressed her hand against a small monitor in the wall. A red light started flashing and wouldn't stop until the door was locked again behind them.

With a lot of noise, light flooded the large hall - too bright, Ahsoka had to squint for a while.

The room was large and grey. There were a lot of target dummies standing along the walls but otherwise, the room as empty. Nothing, really, that should have worried her, but Ahsoka couldn't shake a strong feeling of unease. The place felt dark and malicious, hostile to every living thing, and cruelty soaked the very air they were breathing. She wouldn't want to stay here one second longer than necessary.

Arkee handed Crystal a small paper and CrazyCrystal disappeared into what seemed to be a storage room at the other end of the hall.

"Please tell me her father was just teasing me."

Arkee seemed surprised, then amused.

"So _that_ 's what's been eating you on the way here?"

She grinned.

"Ahsoka, you naughty, naughty girl! I lead you into a horrid pit of darkness and all you can think about is how to get that dress off little Crystal."

Ahsoka felt herself go red again.

"Arkee...", she mumbled.

"Alright, alright. But I'm afraid I can't tell you what you want to hear because quite frankly, I don't know."

Arkee shrugged.

"Either way, wouldn't it matter more what Crystal's thinking if you're trying to get into her pants?"

If there was a record for the most amount of blushes in a day, Ahsoka was sure she couldn't be very far from breaking it.

"Well, I guess tha- I'm _not_ trying to get into her pants!"

"Whoops, must-a slipped my mind."

The white Anzat stuck out her tongue, then laughed.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood for such a terrible place.", Crystal commented when she returned with two small boxes.

"Is that everything you need? I don't really understand why you would need these bracelets for training, but these were the only boxes labelled like you wrote me down."

She opened one box and revealed a heavy-looking gold bracelet.

"These are just the ones. Thank you, Crystal."

Crystal handed her the boxes than smiled at Ahsoka.

"I'm sorry, can I ask you something?"

Ahsoka hadn't expected to be talked to, now has she expected the young Chiss to fidget as she was.

 _If you want to know whether I'm going to accept your crazy father's offer, the answer is no._

"Er, sure."

Crystal blushed and looked down at her feet.

"I was wondering if you'd allow me to touch those things on your head?"

Ahsoka blinked.

"My montrals?"

"Is that what they're called? I'm sorry, I just can't help wondering about them."

Internally, Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief. That was it. She was just curious, probably the same way she had been curious about the Chiss.

"N-No, it's quite alright, go ahead", she replied, slightly bowing forward to allow Crystal easier access to her montrals.

Still, that didn't stop the situation from feeling awkward, and she too blushed for the umpteenth time today as the shy blue fingers slowly came closer.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught Arkee grinning again.

 _Oh, shut up!_

Crystal's fingers were really smooth and they slightly tickled as they carefully felt Ahsoka's montrals. At times, she would squeeze lightly, at others, she glided down the side of the hollows montrals'. It felt quite comfortable, actually, and no, the blue skin wasn't cold but felt wonderfully warm. In fact, Ahsoka felt a pang of regret when the blue female eventually stopped.

She looked up into the bright red eyes that all but glowed from joy.

"Thank you", Crystal said in a soft voice, then she turned to Arkee, "I'll prepare a ghostwalk for the both of you. Freshly brewed, I promise."

She looked at Ahsoka again.

"Please train safely."

With that, she walked past Ahsoka and Arkee and left the room.

The two of them watched until the young Chiss had left and the heavy security door was sealed shut again.

"Go ahead", Ahsoka mumbled, "make fun of me."

Perhaps unexpectedly, Arkee would not. Instead, she simply smiled.

"You've made that girl very happy, you know? I don't expect her to meet many people, not as a Chiss on Coruscant, not down here, and not of her own age."

"My age?", Ahsoka asked surprised, "I thought she was older."

"Well, perhaps about a year or two, certainly no more than that. The body of a Chiss matures quickly", Arkee explained.

"What a galaxy", Ahsoka mumbled after her first shock, "a young Chiss looks years older while an archaic Anzat still looks better than many species' females in their prime. Talk about unfair."

"You know, I won't go easy on you just because you flatter me."

Right, training. Ahsoka had almost forgot they had come here to train.

"So tell me, what do you know about the dark side of the force?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened. She didn't like the question, she didn't like it at all, for it could only mean they were going to do another 'exercise' like the one they barely survived earlier.

"Not much, admittedly", she answered as calm as her violently beating heart would allow.

 _Beware of anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the force they are_ , Yoda's voice echoed as Ahsoka remembered his lessons that he must have had repeated to countless younglings before her.

 _Easily they flow; quick to join you in a fight._

"... and that once you started going down this path, it would forever dominate you", she repeated them to Arkee who listened closely and eventually sighed.

"That's it? All their power, all their wisdom, centuries of teaching and still they fear what they don't want to understand. Ignorant fools."

Ahsoka blinked. All her life, everybody had looked up to Yoda and treated his teachings as if every single word he said was an ultimate truth, a source of infinite wisdom. To see them that nonchalantly discarded ...

Then again, the lessons probably did sound more impressive when you're an ancient being and allegedly the wisest Jedi alive, respected by all. And - the realisation hit Ahsoka so hard she stopped breathing for a moment - when you brainwashed everybody into never doubting your words. Younglings were easy to mould, they would accept as truth whatever you presented to them as such and they wouldn't question it until later, when they may not be able to question it anymore, something the Jedi knew to take advantage of.

She felt cold, all of a sudden, and started shivering.

No, that was impossible. She must be overreacting. Her new-found disgust for the Jedi must be distorting her memories, giving them a biased imprint...but what if it wasn't? What if she really had been a part of the galaxy's biggest brainwashing facility? She … had to stop thinking like that. She had to.

Surprised by the intensity of her own reaction, she simply stared at Arkee, who had remained oblivious - or at least pretended to have remained oblivious - to the young Togruta's internal conflict.

"Good news first: that bit about forever dominating you, is bullshit, born out of an ideological war and repeated until nobody disagreed anymore. Repeating nonsense doesn't make it the truth, though, and if it were the truth, both you and I would long have turned Sith."

Arkee levitated one of the larger target dummies from the edge of the room into its middle.

"It will feel unpleasant, at first. However, the more frequent you use it, the easier it gets."

"But", Ahsoka complained nervously, "why would I ever _want_ to use the dark side?"

Her mentor gently set down the dummy, then looked at her.

"Haven't you given yourself the answer to that, today? I told you, a Jedi clinging to the light side of the force couldn't have saved us when we had already been that low. You refused to acknowledge the reality of it and instead created your own by coercing the force into submitting to your will. This act of subduing the force is what we consider the dark side."

The white Anzat chuckled at her apprentice's astonished face.

"But... it didn't feel horrible at all!", Ahsoka complained, "I felt so ... so calm, so ... I don't know, I -"

Arkee gestured her to take it easy.

"The force is the force", she simply said, "and by itself neither light nor dark until we define it by our actions."

Ahsoka felt herself being lifted off the ground.

"The light side is gentle, subtle", Arkee continued as she slowly moved the young Togruta through the air, "and it's most powerful when the user is at peace.

She gently let Ahsoka down again.

"The dark side is wild, passionate, alive. It requires strong emotions and an iron will."

Something crackled, then again.

"Let me show you just what it is the Jedi are so afraid of."

With horror, Ahsoka watched as her lover's gentle grey eyes slowly turned into a cruel gold. She felt like running, screaming, but she couldn't, she simply stood there and froze.

The air changed around them. Had it before simply been cool, it was now icy. And had the place already felt horrid before, _'horrid'_ was now a gross understatement.

The force quivered in protest against its violation, but Arkee silenced it and soon, the room returned to the same dark feeling it had had before.

"Do not try to create lightning", Arkee said, "even if you succeed, it's a crude method and imprecise." Ahsoka had expected her to sound different, more ... cruel, but she didn't,she's had the same calm and beautiful voice she had always had. She felt darker, true, more intimidating, but that wasn't due to any change in her appearance.

"Instead", her Sith master continued, "bend the force into a tool to destroy, a weapon to kill, then use it."

The white Sith turned towards the target dummy and raised a hand. Bolts of pure power shot from her arm and flowed down into the tips of her fingers, from where they leapt at the dummy. Instants later, the dummy burst.

Satisfied, the Sith stopped the torrent of lightning and turned back to her awestruck apprentice.

Ahsoka couldn't put into words how very relieved she had been to see the golden eyes of her master return to their original silver.

"You will need to want to hurt, destroy or kill", Arkee continued, as if nothing had happened, "anger is your most useful emotion, here. Concentrate your anger into your fingertips, let it all flow into your fingers, then add enough malice to direct it at your target."

She grinned at the still perplex Togruta.

"What do you think, want to give it a try?"

"Yes."

 _Wait, what?!_

Ahsoka looked at Arkee. They both were surprised by both, her answer and the speed at which she had delivered it. She should have said no, she should have slapped Arkee for that suggestion. Everything the Jedi had taught her screamed for her to reject this, but she didn't. She wouldn't. She was done being the Jedi's meek slave, and if they were going to send assassins after her, she _wanted_ them to be afraid.

"Interesting", Arkee said and licked her lips.

With a flick of her hands, she force-pushed the destroyed target dummy's debris aside.

"Very interesting", she repeated as she levitated a new dummy over to replace it, "perhaps we won't need these bracelets, after all."

She looked at her orange apprentice.

"Remember, the dark side feeds on your emotions. Let your emotions flow with the force, don't suppress them, like the Jedi do, but remain focussed; you're not an animal giving in to blind rage."

Ahsoka closed her eyes and was immediately hit on the head.

"I thought you had learned your lesson, today. You will focus with open eyes."

Yup, that was Arkee, harsh in teaching as ever.

Ahsoka looked at the target dummy and thought about the Jedi, the stupid, ignorant Jedi who not only betrayed her but also lied to her, used her when it was convenient, then cast her aside when it was no longer. The same Jedi had been hunting Arkee and would now see Barriss executed. Anger? Oh, she's had lots of it.

"Good", her mentor commented, "I can feel your anger, now focus it."

This was a bit trickier, but she eventually figured it out and it was surprisingly simple.

 _Bend the force into a tool to destroy, a weapon to kill._

As she let the force flow through her body and into her fingertips, she found her mind wander to Barriss. Barriss! Her dear friend, her betrayer. Ahsoka had trusted her, _loved_ her, and she had been naive enough to believe the feeling to be mutual. Even now. Even now! Why?! Why could she still not hate the lying bitch?!

"Focus! Or you'll kill yourself!"

 _Hm? Oh._

Lightning was surrounding her, hitting the ground, hitting the ceiling, threatening to sear her own flesh. The force screamed angrily at this violation, but she did not care; she was the master, she was in control, and the force would do as she willed.

 _You're not an animal giving in to blind rage._

Ahsoka commanded the force back into her arm and looked at the target dummy. Master Yoda's face flashed before her eyes.

 _Beware of fear, anger, aggression, the dark side are they._

She gritted her teeth.

 _What do you know about anger, master high-and-mighty? How could you_ presume _to understand when you probably haven't felt anger in centuries?_

Yoda's face didn't answer and Ahsoka raised her hand. Her mind grew calm, determined, cold. And to her amazement, she liked it. The force raged through her body, and her emotions ran wild, but her mind was at ease. She even felt joy; so much, in fact, that it almost scared her. She grinned and let her bright golden eyes glare at Yoda. She was done listening to hypocrites.

 _Once you start -_

 _Shut up!_

A single short burst of lightning flashed through the room, hit the target and disappeared as quickly as it had formed.

Immediately, Ahsoka felt weak. She let herself sink onto her knee and cried. She cried out of joy. A huge weight had been lifted off her and for the first time in an eternity, she was free. No sorrow, no regret, no anger; the lightning had drained it all from her, and all she felt, was peace.

Laughing, she stood back up, ran to Arkee and hugged and kissed the wonderful Anzat who had taught her to achieve this.

"You've done beautifully, darling."

Arkee carefully watched until Ahsoka's golden eyes had returned back to their original blue, then finally sighed in relief.

"All my life, I was told how cruel, how horrid the dark side was", Ahsoka laughed, "and it was when it was forced onto me, but this time, this time it's not! I could get addicted to this! "

"See that you don't", her lover answered with a smirk, "or you _will_ turn Sith. Remember, what's making the dark side so horrid to others is that it's mostly used as a weapon, where your mind must be set on hurting or killing your enemies. You do not want to start to enjoy hurting people."

Ahsoka nodded.

"By the way, why was my burst so much shorter than yours? "

"Oh, that's simple. You just immediately let go off your emotions. Don't worry, with practise, you will learn to do this quicker and maintain it for longer without tiring yourself out."

Letting go of the enthusiastic young Togruta, Arkee walked over to the exit and activated the intercom next to the door.

"Crystal? We're still alive and finished."

"Coming!"

The reply had come quickly and with a voice full of relief.

Arkee turned to Ahsoka.

"Come, we'll be staying here for a few days and it's been an eventful day. Tomorrow, we'll continue destroying things until you're satisfied, but for now, you've earned a bit of relaxation."

"So what _is_ a ghostwalk?", Ahsoka asked as she laid down on one of the massaging tables.

Crystal had brought them into a small bright room that was coloured in a warm brown, almost as if it had been completely made of wood. Actually, it wasn't only the colour, that gave the room a warm feeling, it really _was_ rather hot in here. Not uncomfortable, though.

The blue girl's nimble fingers put a small choker on her neck.

"A form of meditation", she explained, "your whole body is relaxed to stop your mind from worrying about the flesh surrounding it. So, done, could you please turn onto your back?"

Ahsoka did as she was asked and felt the cool metal on her neck with her hand.

"We don't actually get many customers asking for one, anymore. Some find it scary, but most of our customers just are looking to spend their time ... differently."

"With you?", Arkee teased.

Why was Ahsoka feeling that she had been waiting for an opportunity to ask that?

Crystal gave the white Anzat a glare that would have killed lesser beings.

"Me? With that scum?! No, I don't think so."

"But you would with the right person", Arkee kept probing with a grin.

"I - well, I guess there is a probability I would at least consider it. Does it matter?"

Crystal didn't seem particularly pleased with the conversation, and Ahsoka didn't blame her. What was Arkee - wait, had she just glanced at her?

 _Don't - you- dare!_

Arkee's grin widened.

"No, of course not. Forgive me, I was just curious"

Crystal huffed and turned back to Ahsoka.

"Anyway, I'm sorry." she said, then pressed a button on Ahsoka's choker.

 _Sorry?_

"Wh- ow!"

Ahsoka flinched. Something had stung her into the neck, and now, her body was quickly growing limp.

"The toxin should paralyse you from your neck down within moments, but it should not cause you any loss of sensory information", Crystal explained and picked something up from a nearby table.

"Can you hear me? Do you see me? Can you talk?"

"Yes", the nervous Togruta answered, "but I can't move my body."

"Do you have trouble breathing?"

"No."

"Does anything hurt? Do you feel cold, anywhere?"

"No."

Crystal held up a blunt needle for Ahsoka to see.

"I'm going to poke you in different places. You should be able to feel them all. Please immediately tell me when you don't. This shouldn't hurt."

Crystal started with Ahsoka's fingers and slowly worked up her arm. Next were her toes and legs and finally, her torso. Although she did remain professional, Crystal slightly blushed when she poked Ahsoka's breasts, and she apologised many times over as she continued. Ahsoka would have preferred if she hadn't, because it was giving the scene a rather erotic touch and very soon, she was blushing as well.

Finally satisfied, Crystal repeated the procedure with Arkee.

"If anything is starting to feel wrong", Crystal continued as she rolled the tables they were lying on into a larger but empty room, "if you feel cold or hurt, or if breathing starts to get hard, call me immediately. Just shout my name and an alarm will go off. The choker _will_ monitor your heartbeat. If your pulse drops below a certain threshold, the antidote will automatically be released and an alarm will be sounded. But I'd prefer to act before that."

She smiled at Ahsoka.

"Don't worry, though, that's just a precaution. We've never had an emergency before."

The room Crystal rolled the tables they were lying on into - or at least what little Ahsoka could see of it without moving her head - was coloured in a deep red, and it felt just as warm as the smaller room they had been prepared in. She started wishing they wouldn't be wearing their wetsuits

"Crystal..."

No, she couldn't ask this of her.

"Yes?"

There was some worry in Crystal's voice.

"How long ..."

The Chiss breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, untreated, the paralysis can last for as long as eight standard hours."

 _Eight?!_

"But we will end it after one or as soon as you call for me. "

The young Chiss smiled.

"Don't worry, I would _never_ forget you."

Ahsoka blushed. She was sure, Crystal had meant this in an innocent way, but she couldn't help it. Noticing, Crystal blushed as well and bashfully looked down.

"I mean, I – well...", Crystal stuttered, then fell silent.

After a moment, she coughed.

"A-anyway..."

She looked at Arkee.

"Do you need something for your meditation? Music? Candles? Ethereal oils? I hear some people like to be - er, massaged during paralysis."

"We're fine, thank you, Crystal."

"Well, I'll - leave you to it, then."

Was that disappointment, she heard in Crystal's voice?

"Please enjoy your meditation."

And with that, Crystal left, but not before glancing again at the orange Togruta.

"Darling, that girl's fallen for you heads over heels.", Arkee said, obviously amused.

"Seriously, Arkee, will you _ever_ stop teasing me?"

"Never! I'm having way too much fun."

Arkee chuckled.

"Anyway, are you comfortable?"

"Well", Ahsoka answered, "I cannot move at all, but this isn't bad. Rather relaxing, too. But please tell me we won't simply stare at the ceiling for the next hour."

"We won't", her mentor confirmed, "in fact, not taking advantage of your inability to move would defeat the whole point of bringing you here."

The _whole_ point of bringing her here?

"You're really fond of drugs, aren't you, Arkee?"

"Oh yes, they are wonderful teaching tools. They're unbiased, merciless, and you can't cheat them."

Ahsoka was wondering what the Jedi would say to that. The Jedi, whose training at times had been so very _boring_ , just sitting there, meditating...

"Let's summarise what I did to you, today. The fall forced you to choose to use the dark side and opened you to the way of manipulating the force."

 _Forced you to choose?_ Well, that was one way of putting it.

"Our little experiment in the cellar was meant to show you how to do so at will in a safer environment than our apartment. But regardless of whether you're using the light side or the dark, you still lack ... dexterity."

"Dexterity?"

By reflex, Ahsoka tried to tilt her head, only to find out she couldn't.

 _Stupid._

"How have you used the force when you were still with the Jedi", Arkee asked, "push, pull, lift something and the occasional mind trick?"

"Er, yes?"

"Tsk, how very boring. And I bet you were always fluttering your arms around while you were doing so."

"Well, yeah. I've been taught it helps to concentrate and that it's easier to use your body to guide the force."

"And both is true", Arkee admitted, "which is particularly useful in battle where your concentration is already tested, but it also keeps your body occupied with something your mind is already doing and you grow dependent on it, over time."

"So ... you want me to lift something while I cannot move my body."

Ahsoka wasn't even trying to hide her disappointment. Lifting stuff was one of the very first things she had learned to do with the force. She had expected something more exciting.

Noticing, Arkee chuckled.

"Don't worry, you will enjoy this, I will make sure of that. And truth be told, it was you who's given me the idea for this lesson."

"I - I have?"

Her heart started to beat faster. She was curious. A bit nervous, true, but excited.

Arkee was grinning. She couldn't see it, but Arkee was definitely grinning her mischievous grin again, she felt it, and it was giving her goosebumps.

"I've put you through many stressful situations, today, haven't I?"

Suddenly, Arkee felt much closer. That was nonsense, of course, as the white Anzat was just as immobile as she, but her teacher's presence was upon her, pressing her gently against the table she was lying on.

"Let me make it up to you."

A gentle feeling briefly pressed against her lips, leaving Ahsoka baffled.

Had Arkee just used the force to … kiss her?

 _Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzip._

Slowly, ever so slowly, the zip fastener of her wetsuit began to open on its own.

"That's your doing, isn't it?!"

The pull tab slowly crawled down her chest, allowing the damp air to caress her skin.

"Oh yes", Arkee breathed in a soft voice, "this is me."

The pull tab had reached her navel and as it slid further down, she could feel something pull at her suit from the sides.

"What- what if Crystal comes back?!"

"Hmmm? What _if_ she comes back?"

Finally, the tension became too strong and the suit started to slide. Ahsoka could hear her heart thundering in her head.

"Does the idea excite you?", Arkee whispered, "Imagine, she is standing right outside. She's been curious about you from the very beginning, and out of curiosity, she wants to spy on us."

The seam of her wet suit brushed against her nipples.

"For safety reasons, the door is capable of acting as a one-way window, when closed. She was torn between using it to satisfy her curiosity and giving us the private space she thinks we deserve, but in the end she couldn't resist."

Ahsoka's breasts plopped out of the suit with a soft sound and they happily danced as they escaped their sticky prison.

"Oh!", her horny mentor breathed, "Her red eyes go wide in surprise. She's stunned, but she cannot stop looking at your beautiful orange skin, that's so very strange to her. You cannot see her, but she blushes. You can feel her curious gazes crawling up your breasts, burning into your hard erect nipples."

To her narration, Arkee gently pinched Ahsoka's nipples through the force, then moved them in small circles.

Despite herself, Ahsoka allowed a gasp to escape her lips. The idea of being watched by the blue woman she knew so little about excited her more than she would ever admit, especially when couples with Arkee's fiction.

"She's so very confused", Arkee continued in her hypnotic voice, "she's never heard of the force before, much less seen somebody use it, but she must accept what her eyes reveal to her."

Ahsoka's wetsuit started to pull down towards her toes. It took the sticky fabric a moment, but eventually, it could not hold on to the orange body and began to slide.

"So let's show her more. Let's show her _everything_."

Helpless to do anything, Ahsoka closed her eyes and imagined Crystal how she'd be looking at them, as her wetsuit was pulled lower and lower. Already, her eager red eyes could feast on Ahsoka's navel, and they followed the very edge of the wetsuit that would soon uncover her most private of paths.

"That's it, lean back, enjoy it. Let me do my magic", Arkee's relaxing voice echoed through the otherwise silent room, "you've earned this."

The wetsuit was now pulled down to her crotch and ever so slowly crept lower.

Crystal would now be unable to look away. She'd be staring at Ahsoka's nether region until her eyes hurt, not wanting to miss a single instant. And although the wetsuit now was sliding down her legs, Crystal's eyes would remain focussed on Ahsoka's uncovered wet crotch.

 _Look at me._

Ahsoka was breathing heavily. Never before had she been so excited by a fantasy of hers and now, she didn't want the fantasy to end.

 _Look at me, Crystal. Look at my naked body. Do I excite you? You? Barely more than a stranger?_

Having completely undressed her orange pupil, Arkee turned to Ahsoka's breasts again. Gently – much more gentle than Ahsoka would have thought possible – she pushed the hard nipples in various directions.

Up, up, down, left, slowly in a circle … and Crystal would of course see all this. She wouldn't understand why this was happening, nor how, but she would see _that_ it was happening, and she would want to see more.

"Arkee", Ahsoka whispered softly, "show Crystal more."

"Oh, darling, you naughty, naughty girl", Arkee breathed in response.

A soft push on the insides of her legs, slowly forced Ahsoka's legs apart.

"Very well, let's show her more."

No sooner were her legs parted than a heavy, wet feeling attacked her most sensitive part, as if a giant tongue just started to lick on her … a very skilled tongue.

Ahsoka moaned as she let the phantom tongue caress her clit. If she could have moved, she'd probably have jerked away, but now that she was completely immobilised, there was no escaping the pleasure in her crotch, and Arkee knew that.

"Can you feel how excited she is? She has no idea, what's going on, but she sees your clit moving about on its own..."

In addition to the wet feeling in her crotch, a heavy touch started to massage her breasts.

"... she can see your perky orange tits dance beneath my invisible touch ..."

Ahsoka moaned in pleasure. If this kept up, 'Crystal' would soon see her orgasm. The thought should have shocked her, but instead, it was exciting her further.

"... and she can hear your reactions."

Arkee flicked Ahsoka's clit, and was rewarded with another hot moan from the orange throat.

"Let's give her a better view, shall we?"

The table Ahsoka was lying on rose an inch and flew to the entry, where it was lowered onto the ground again. Ahsoka's crotch was now facing the door. If Crystal really had been standing behind this door, she could probably see up to Ahsoka's cervix, if she crouched down.

 _Do you like what you see, Crystal? Don't be shy! Stare at me to your heart's content._

As if on cue, Ahsoka could feel her vagina spread and contract rhythmically, matching her own quick pulse. She was now gasping.

"Go ahead darling, concentrate. Feel Crystal in the force as she looks at you. Feel how she desires to touch your wet pussy, to rub herself against you. How she wants to go mad with you."

"But ..."

"Do it, darling."

This was nonsense. How could she possibly feel Crystal in the force if Crystal wasn't even there? But brought so close to orgasm, Ahsoka couldn't care less about 'sense' and other such needless distractions. Humouring Arkee, she focussed … and much to her surprise, could really feel somebody on the other side of the door, staring at her.

"How - ?!"

Arkee softly pinched Ahsoka's clit and the gasp silenced her.

"Shh, darling, questions come later. For now, let her look at you."

The wet touch in Ahsoka's crotch sped up and grew more intense, banishing any further thoughts. She had no idea how Arkee was capable of constructing an illusion she could even feel in the force, but that was alright, she didn't really care at the moment, and the fantasy that Crystal could be looking at her grew so much more realistic.

"What?! No!", Ahsoka exclaimed, then shrieked.

Arkee, it seemed, was no longer satisfied with massaging the young Togruta on the outside, but now also massaged Ahsoka's clit from _inside_ her vagina.

"Oh, you like it here, don't you?"

The touch inside her gently vibrated as it grew stronger and stronger.

Ahsoka shrieked again.

"Your reaction is wonderful, Darling. Have you any idea how wet you just made poor Crystal?"

Another moan.

"Feel her, darling! Tell me what she's doing!"

Concentrating was much harder now, but Ahsoka bit her lip and tried her best to ignore the pleasure Arkee forced on her.

"She's … standing … there", she forced out in-between her gasps, "she's staring … at … me. And she's ..."

"Yes?"

"She's ..."

By the force, why was Arkee so skilled?!

"Come on, darling, say it! Say it!"

"She has a … a hand … in her … crotch … and an-other … on her breast... She's m-masturbating to … me."

The young Togruta squealed in joy. She was now only instants away from an orgasm. The illusion on the other side of the door was softly gyrating her hips and it felt so erotic, so real...

"Yes! Yes she is!", Arkee breathed, "Come for her! Show her how Togruti orgasm!"

In a last desperate attempt to control her arousal, Ahsoka softly bit her tongue. Desperate, but futile.

"Look at me, Crystal", she moaned, "look at me!"

Her body began to softly quiver.

"Watch me go mad!"

The soft quiver grew a violent shaking.

Ahsoka's eyes rolled up into her head and she screamed.

"That's it, darling! Let go of your mind, you won't need it!"

White pleasure attacked her every thought and rendered it useless. Her body wanted to jump, to jerk, to escape, but the toxin in her blood bound her completely and all it managed was to vibrate uncontrollably as Arkee continued to stimulate her through her orgasm.

"Keep it up, darling! She's close too! Can you feel how violently she's trusting her hips? Can you hear her heavy breath?"

Oh yes, she could.

"Help her", Arkee suggested, "pick her up and help her, the way I'm helping you."

 _Pick up an illusion?_

"Do it, darling!"

She could feel the person on the other side of the door stop her masturbation and hesitate. 'Crystal', it seems, had heard them and was unsure of what to do.

Ahsoka marvelled at the perfection of Arkee's illusion, then quickly decided to play along. And anyway, she was way too aroused not to.

After the first shock, Crystal started to struggle, but with neither hand nor foot reaching anything solid, she could but bend in the air. And Ahsoka made sure it stayed that way. The pleasure Arkee's murderous massage forced onto her body made it hard to concentrate, but she now had a firm grasp on the blue girl.

"Good!", Arkee commented, "Don't let her get away!"

Ahsoka gritted her teeth as her nipples were flicked into random directions, but she didn't let go of Crystal.

"Now first, you need to get rid of her clothes."

Ahsoka reached out for the flailing Chiss' dress.

"Where could you open that dress?"

Yes, where? Ahoska let her mind wander over the blue shoulders and down each of Crystal's sides and back up her back.

A zip fastener? Buttons? Or was it tied, somewhere?

Another shudder gripped Ahsoka's body as Arkee flicked her clit. Was she disturbing her concentration on purpose?

 _The heck with it, who cares?_

Giving up, Ahsoka quite simply ripped Crystal's dress to pieces. She imagined the blue-skinned female would shriek in surprise and embarrassment. Perhaps she'd plead for Ahsoka to stop? No, didn't feel like it. She could feel embarrassment, but also pleasure from the illusion, but no desire to escape. In fact, her resistance grew weaker.

 _Surrendering, already?_

"Oh, so violent!", her Anzati teacher commented, "Will you be more gentle with her undergarments?"

 _Undergarments?_

Ahsoka had almost forgotten such a thing existed. The wetsuits they had been training in were to tight to comfortably wear anything underneath them and when they hadn't been training … well, then they didn't want to wear things that took a lot of time to take off.

She grinned. It was funny, she had never even noticed.

Oh well, it couldn't hurt to be more gentle.

Carefully feeling the mechanism, Ahsoka unhooked Crystal's bra. Crystal caught and held on to it, but she quite simply pulled it out of her hands and dropped it to the ground where the floating Chiss could not reach it and pushed into Crystal's breast.

 _Soft like a Voorpak._

It was a shame she couldn't move, because illusion or not, she most definitely would have wanted to bury her little fingers in these large breasts.

She played a bit with Crystal's breasts and noticed Arkee was doing her best to do to her what she was doing to Crystal. It was bizarre, somehow it felt as if she was touching both, herself and her victim at the same time.

Eventually, she pulled at Crystal's panties and Crystal grasped them with both her hands.

 _Oh, you don't want me to take_ everything _off?_

It was kind of cute how she was still resisting this late in the game.

 _As if you could stop me._

She _could_ have just pulled them down violently, but she wanted to take her time, savour Crystal's futile resistance. In a way, she felt like a Nekarr Cat Cub, toying with its first prey.

 _Take your time, let her feel how helpless she is._

Excruciatingly slow, she pried Crystals hands open – one finger at a time. Finally, she started pulling at the Chiss' panties again, and although Crystal twisted, she could do nothing to prevent that final piece from falling.

"That was beautiful."

Ahsoka almost dropped Crystal. Arkee was suddenly _much_ closer; she was kneeling behind her and just now leaned in to kiss Ahsoka's neck.

"How can you move?!"

"The antidote is released when you press a button on these uncomfortable chokers", Arkee explained, "but does it matter? Focus on Crystal and I'll take _good_ care of you."

She kissed Ahsoka's neck again, then grabbed her breasts. Ahsoka noticed that Arkee, too, had undressed

"Hmm...", she hummed as she massaged the small orange tits, "yes, so much more satisfying than using the force."

Arkee pulled back, then rotated the table Ahsoka was lying on so Ahsoka's spread legs were now immediately in front of her.

"Now tell me, darling", she cooed, as her head disappeared out of Ahsoka's field of vision, "what are you doing to Crystal?"

With Arkee licking her off, and her lover's hands on her breasts, concentrating on Illusion-Crystal proved so much harder.

Intensity-wise, the stimulation was softer than before, but bodily contact provided a feeling of intimacy one-sided stimulation through the force just couldn't, and Ahsoka loved it.

"I'm … I'm pushing her large breasts together", she reported her actions to Arkee, "and grind them against each other."

Crystal shivered.

"I can feel the pleasure she gets out of it. She ..."

Ahsoka paused for a moment until she was certain.

"... wants me to caress her lower, but at the same time suppresses that feeling out of shame."

Arkee chuckled.

"Not unlike our first encounter, eh? Teach her better."

Ahsoka grinned.

"I feel my way down her body and into her crotch."

She moaned as Arkee stuck two fingers into her and started to slowly move them back and forth, scraping against the very top of her vagina, as she did.

"I – I'm trying to find … where she's most … sensitive."

Ahsoka pushed against several spots within Crystal and gently vibrated each before moving on to the next. After a while, Crystal suddenly bucked.

"I think I … found it."

She continued tickling the last spot she pressed and felt the Chiss' toss and turn and twist as she tried in vain to escape

"I definitely … found it. And I think she's … close. Still sensitive from … before I picked her up."

Arkee sped up her caress and sucked on Ahsoka's clit with all her might, reminding her that she was too.

But she would not come before Crystal, she couldn't. Gritting her teeth to better endure the pleasure, Ahsoka sped up her own caress and was rewarded with waves after wave of pleasure oozing out of the blue body behind the door.

"Very … close. I'm finishing her … now!"

Crystal bucked and spasmed and the pleasure that exploded out of her proved enough to push Ahsoka over the edge Arkee had brought her so close to.

The world turned white.

 _I won!_

She kept her eyes closed for a moment as she caught her breath.

"That was marvellous, darling", Arkee said as she kissed Ahsoka on the cheek, "sorry, this will sting a bit."

Arkee pressed a button on Ahsoka's choker and with a loud click, the antidote was injected.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, it won't take long until you can move again. But you've surprised me yet again, darling."

"How so?"

"I thought you'd have more trouble with this. How often did you and that Barriss..."

"Just once", Ahsoka said while she felt her self go red.

"Once?"

"Well, I did kind of almost push her out of a window mid-orgasm, so we didn't really feel like trying again and continued with … more conventional means."

"Impressive."

"I – I did keep practising on myself, though."

Arkee chuckled

"So that's why."

"Pretty much. Barriss and I -"

An image of her driving a large vibro-ax into her green friend flashed in front of her.

"I'm sorry, do we need to talk about her?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Arkee kissed her on the forehead.

"Did you enjoy yourself this evening, at least?

Ahsoka blushed again and averted her eyes.

Had she enjoyed 'raping' Crystal and while Arkee was getting her off?

"Yes", she mumbled.

More than she was comfortable with admitting, actually, but judging from Arkee's grin, she didn't need to say that for her to know.

"But I feel kind of guilty we didn't do anything to you."

Her lover's white hand caressed her cheek.

"Oh darling, you've done plenty for me."

Arkee kissed the confused Togruta again, on the mouth, this time.

"For me and Crystal, both", she whispered, then kissed her again.

A tingling feeling in her limbs told Ahsoka that she would soon be able to move again. She smiled.

"Speaking of which", how did you create it?"

"Create what?"

"That illusion. I knew it had to be an illusion but I still couldn't see through it. My masters would be ashamed."

"Well, I would've been truly impressed if you had managed to make that Crystal disappear."

Arkee seemed amused, for some reason.

Her body was still tickling but Ahsoka could finally move again.

"Careful, darling, take it easy", Arkee commented as Ahsoka sat up.

"You see, the tru- "

Her explanation was cut short by the sound of the door's sliding up.

In came a shy and blushing Crystal, wearing a long gown in black with red ornaments and carrying a bunch of white clothes and some towels.

"I – thought you might like some new clothes and let us clean your wetsuits", she mumbled, looking more at the floor than at either of them.

Interestingly, she didn't seem surprised at all to find the two of them naked.

"Thank you, Crystal", Arkee offered, apparently the only one in the room who felt perfectly comfortable.

"The shower's over there", Crystal added, pointing in some direction behind her.

Glancing at Ahsoka, she added: "And uh -"

She fidgeted as she looked back down at the floor and smiled.

"Next time, please don't destroy my dress."

 _What?!_

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_  
 _OK, that took longer than I had intended it to. Sorry about that._  
 _If you liked what you read so far, do keep in mind that you can follow/favourite the story_  
 _in order to receive a note when I publish my next chapter._

 _And regardless of whether you liked it or not, I'd be happy to receive your feedback._  
 _Let me know what you liked and what you didn't, what you would want to read more of and where I can improve.  
Or just share a general remark._

 _Cheers!_


	4. Ch4 - Palpitation

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.4: Palpitation**

"Good morning, darling", Arkee's joyful voice woke her up.

Ahsoka slowly opened her eyes, then blinked several times.

"Mornin", she mumbled, "crazy Anzat."

She smirked when she saw the bright grey eyes dance with joy.

"Admit it, you wouldn't like me if I weren't crazy."

The white-skinned female kissed Ahsoka on the cheek

"Yes I would", the orange Togruti teen protested.

Grabbing Arkee by the shoulders, she pulled her down onto herself, then rolled sideways until she was on top of her lover.

"Just nowhere near as much."

She leaned down and locked her lips with Arkee's in a soft kiss.

Yes, a good morning indeed. For the first time in months, she had managed to sleep through a night without Barriss' haunting her. She wasn't sure what that meant. Perhaps it was just the bed that was so very soft, here. Perhaps her mind had just been exhausted after the harsh training these past days.

 _Dreams pass in time_ , she remembered master Kenobi's lesson to her when she was little.

Yes, perhaps that's all these nightmares had ever been: dreams.

But perhaps …

She quickly suffocated the thoughts before they could surface.

She didn't want to think about dark possibilities, right now. And besides, she noticed, Arkee was sliding her hands up her pyjama top.

Ahsoka giggled when she felt the nimble white fingers cup her breasts.

"Already?! It's morning! I just woke up!"

"No time like it."

They grinned and kissed again, and when they did, Arkee rolled Ahsoka back beneath her.

"Or … are you saying I can only love you when it's dark, outside?", she asked and put a finger in-between Ahsoka's collar bones, "that would be such a waste."

The finger slowly slid down Ahsoka's sternum until it reached the first button on the purple pyjama Crystal had brought them yesterday.

"No, I- "

Silenced by another kiss, she felt the button pop open.

"Good, because if you had answered yes, I would have destroyed this system's sun."

Ahsoka blushed. Another button on her pyjama top popped open.

Oh sure, _now_ she was getting flustered.

 _Come on, Ahsoka, that was a pretty silly line!_

She smiled and looked deep into the silver eyes hovering above her as she let her hands fly through her lover's pale golden hair.

 _I don't care._

Arkee took her time undressing her orange pupil.

Frustratingly slow, her finger slid down Ahsoka's naked sternum to the next button, then the next, and the one after that.

They never looked away, never broke eye contact as Arkee's hand slid lower and lower, and the lower it slid, the louder and more excitedly Ahsoka's heart thumped.

Already, she could feel the white finger tickle her navel as it crept down, she gasped when the final button of her top was finally undone, and by the time Arkee pulled open the unbuttoned top and her young Togruti tits were greeted by the fresh morning air, she was shivering in anticipation.

With her own clothes, though, Arkee wasted no time and quite simply pulled her top over her head and threw it against a wall.

Then finally – finally! - she lowered herself onto the little orange body.

There were no words in any language Ahsoka knew that would adequately describe the joy she felt when the soft white flesh of her lover pushed into her own as they embraced. Her heart leapt with every kiss; so much, in fact, she felt dizzy.

Arkee carefully pulled Ahsoka's arms out of the unbuttoned pyjama top and this cloth, too, was thrown away. Ahsoka barely even noticed this happened.

Intoxicated by the flowery scent of the shampoo Arkee must have used on her hair, and drunk from arousal, she let herself fall back and surrendered to the feeling.

"You've grown docile, darling", the amused Anzat commented.

"Have I?"

Ahsoka smirked and leaned further back, raising her arms above her head and driving her small breasts upwards into Arkee's.

"I am weak and helpless before you", she theatrically sung, "oh master, mercy! Mercy!"

Playing along, Arkee growled and backed down a bit to kiss the offered tits.

"Fear not, little one", she snarled, "your death will be gentle."

She started sucking on the hard orange buds, and the wet touch of her tongue sent shivers through the young Togruta's body.

Ahsoka caressed her lover's head. The long hair felt smooth, as always, and running her fingers through the silvery-golden strands gave her a lot of joy.

Funny thing, love.

 _Love?_

She smiled. What a crazy world.

Their relationship hadn't exactly had the most normal of beginnings – and in fact, she was periodically doubting her sanity for having allowed it to _have_ a beginning at all – but she regretted nothing. Arkee had shown her freedom. _True_ freedom. For the first time in her life, she could give in to her feelings without the cruel Jedi's telling her it was wrong, without the constant fear of being discovered. No hiding, no secrecy, no need for lies … all that mattered were the moments they spent with each other.

A soft tugging feeling started on her pyjama pants. Ever so slowly, Arkee's tongue detached itself from Ahsoka's nipples and started to sink lower … and lower … and lower. And as it did, bit by bit, her pants were pulled down.

The long wet muscle only ever paused to allow the white lips surrounding it to kiss the orange body, and it paused often, but its target was lower still, and it never deviated from its course. Always hungry, it would soon continue to worm further down.

When she felt the white lips kiss her mons, Ahsoka closed her eyes and dug her Fingers deep into the soft pillow beneath her head, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.

"Uh-uh, don't tense up, darling", a beautiful voice reached her through the violent orchestra of her own heart.

"It's too early in the morning to be this tense."

Arkee gently nibbled on Ahsoka's mons, only instants above her most sensitive spot. The white woman's hot breath already caressed it, bathed it in a massage of hot steam, tickling her skin, driving her wild.

"Let go", she breathed, "let go of everything."

The white woman kissed the orange crotch.

"Surrender _everything_ to me."

Ahsoka smiled and loosened her grip on the pillow and was quickly rewarded by a short flick of Arkee's tongue across her clit and she bucked. No sooner had she done so than she felt a soft push in a corner of her mind.

 _Everything._

They had done this before, Ahsoka knew that if she didn't allow for it to happen, it wouldn't. But she _wanted_ it to happen. It was scary, yes, but only at first, then it would be so very wonderful. Slowly, she let go of her mental defences, let go of everything the Jedi had ever taught her about protecting her mind. And with her soul naked before the hungry white beast eager to devour her, she offered herself.

Ever so gently, Arkee's consciousness invaded her own, penetrated her deeper than she ever could have through bodily contact. Ahsoka felt her lover's silvery mind swirl through her own head, surrounding her, trapping her, drawing her in.

"That's it. _Now_ you are at my mercy."

Very slowly, the white head sunk lower one last time.

"I could make you do anything, now. _Anything._ How does that feel?"

Knowing the truth behind these words, the little Togruta girl shivered in excitement.

In a way, this was a prolonged version of a mind-trick. It required an initial invitation, but now that Arkee was so beautifully deep within her, there was no escape anymore. If she was commanded to stop breathing, she simply would happily suffocate. If she was commanded to kill, she wouldn't hesitate. To allow somebody this deep into your being, let your soul be so thoroughly violated … Ahsoka couldn't help thinking that it should feel horrible. And yet ...

 _Intoxicating._

"Yes, I thought it might."

 _Wait, are you reading my mind again?_

She felt Arkee's amusement as she replied.

"Silly girl, you don't _have_ a mind. Not anymore. It's mine."

Finally, Arkee's tongue dove deep into her wet lap and Ahsoka twitched when she felt the hot tongue circle around her long-neglected clit. She gasped, then moaned.

"That's a beautiful reaction. Shall we try that again?"

 _Stars, yes!_

Arkee chuckled.

"Naughty girl."

A soft touch in her crotch started pulsating.

 _Let me give you what you want_ , her violator's voice echoed through her – no, _their_ – mind. _Does this feel good?_

Ahsoka couldn't say anything, she simply gasped and twisted beneath the gentle caress.

 _Yes … I don't need the force to feel it does_ , Arkee continued, _here, right?_

Ahsoka shrieked as pure electricity bolted through her body. Her gasps quickly grew into moans as the nimble white fingers tapped into the very depths of her body and the long soft tongue glided over her little sensitive nub.

 _Hm … you're ready,_ her lover's voice echoed, _should I'll kill you now?"_

Ahsoka hesitated. "To die", that was their code for "orgasm" during this game.

 _I asked you a question, little one, it's rude not to answer._

"No", Ahsoka whispered.

Her body was aching from excitement, begging for Arkee to continue her sweet torture, but simply losing her mind to bodily pleasure was unsatisfactory.

"Please..."

She gazed down at her crotch and into the beautiful bright silver eyes and extended her arms, waiting for an embrace.

"... come here to me. Let me feel your body as closely as your mind."

After a moment of confusion, the white woman happily complied with her wishes.

"No 'master-killing-her-slave'-play, after all?", she asked as she wrapped her arms around the expecting teen and let her cool hands glide over the naked orange back.

"No", Ahsoka replied, noticing the white female had also taken off her own trousers, "not today."

She pressed Arkee closer to her chest.

"Today, I want it to be just you and me."

Arkee smiled.

"I can live with that", she said, and carefully squeezed Ahsoka's lekku.

She leaned in, and their lips entwined in yet another timeless kiss.

Eventually, Arkee slid one of Ahsoka's legs between her own and began to move back and forth in a slow, rhythmic pattern, grinding herself into the twitching orange girl beneath her. And while she gazed into the hazed blue eyes of her pupil's, she brought up a hand and traced Ahsoka's facial a finger.

"Just you, and me", she echoed, "a Togruta and the Anzat that's fallen for her."

Gradually, her rhythm grew faster and more intense. Matching the pattern, Ahsoka pushed her own lower body up into Arkee's.

Then suddenly, it stopped. Arkee stopped and retreated her mind out of Ahsoka's.

"What's wrong", a slightly frustrated Togruta asked, but before Arkee could answer, the door slid open and in bounced a blue-skinned female with brightly glowing red eyes.

"Good m- ... oh!"

Crystal froze as she saw the two cuddling naked females, then quickly looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry!", she exclaimed and turned around, "I – er … breakfast! Thought you should – I mean, before the others ..."

"Calm down, Crystal, it's quite alright. Turn around, its not like you'll see something you haven't seen before, right?"

"But … last time there was a wall between us", Crystal mumbled as she hesitantly turned around again.

Arkee grinned and got up, thereby exposing their nude bodies to the flushed Chiss' shy but naughty glances. Ahsoka – still a bit stunned – completely forgot about covering herself up and Crystal's occasional gazes danced across her skin.

The white grin widened.

"Well, you were saying?"

Crystal took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Thought I should wake you before the other guests have eaten all your breakfast."

In a much lower voice, she added: "But I can see you're quite lively, already. I'll … let you get dressed."

Crystal bowed and turned to leave.

"Hang on a moment, I just had an idea."

The Chiss stopped, but only hesitantly turned towards Arkee.

"Please", she said, "don't destroy my dress again. I can take it off myself, if you're impatient."

Ahsoka suddenly felt her head burning. She looked at Arkee, who seemed surprised but highly amused, then back at Crystal, who was heavily blushing and staring at the floor. The memories of a few nights back were still fresh and she couldn't look at Crystal any longer without drowning in embarrassment, so she looked away.

The young Chiss must have assured her a thousand times already that she didn't mind what they had done to her, and although that greatly alleviated the guilt she had felt at first, it did nothing about the profound embarrassment Ahsoka still was soaked in.

Arkee, on the other hand, seemed to have no such problems.

"I won't", she said, grinning ear to ear, "but I can't make any promises for Ahsoka." Crystal's shy eyes sought the young Togruta's.

"D-don't worry … I won't either", Ahsoka assured her.

"Oh."

 _That sounded almost disappointed._

"Well, uh -"

She coughed.

"What can I do for you, then?"

"Do you know the Zih'Ahri?"

Forgetting her embarrassment, Crystal gawked at Arkee, but after her initial surprise, the air around her grew cold and angry.

"You could have asked me if my skin is blue", she said.

The pupil-less eyes betrayed no emotions, and her voice was calm, controlled, but Ahsoka could feel that the young woman herself was not.

"There's not a girl on Csilla who doesn't know the Zih'Ahri. Do you think just because my parents and I took on names that wouldn't stand out too much outside the Ascendancy and are more pronounceable to your tongues, my mother would let me forget, as if I were a culture-less boor?"

Realising her mistake, Arkee quickly apologised.

"No, I'm sorry", Crystal accepted the apology, "this was uncalled for. I should have more control over my emotions."

She took another deep breath.

"What about the Zih'Ahri?"

"Do you have a music record for it I could borrow after breakfast?"

"Do I have a -"

Crystal's eyes grew wide. There was no more anger in her presence, just pure innocent surprise.

"Don't tell me you intend to – You?!"

She looked at Ahsoka, then back at Arkee.

"You two?!"

Ahsoka had never heard of this _Zih'Ahri_ , nor any idea why Crystal was so surprised.

"I know you Chiss are protective of your culture", Arkee carefully began, "but would that be a problem?"

Still baffled, Crystal let her pupil-less red eyes sway to Ahsoka again, then back at Arkee.

"No! Of course not! No Problem! I'm just … surprised. I haven't seen the Zih'Ahri _actually_ performed and to think that two outsiders … I have to tell dad."

She turned, but again, Arkee put a hand onto her shoulder to stop her.

"No, don't! He has important work to do and I don't want him disturbed."

"But -"

"Please? I'm sure we can manage with just the three of us?"

Crystal hesitated.

"Dad will never forgive me."

She took yet another deep breath, then blushed.

"But if that's your wish, aunty, who am I to deny it to you?"

"I must make preparations!", Crystal declared excitedly, forgetting everything she had said moments ago about being in control of her emotions, "Ch'tra! Shower! Breakfast! Meet me in ball room three as soon as you're ready."

And with that, she stormed off.

Arkee sighed.

"Sometimes, I forget how very proud the Chiss are, even when they grow up outside Chiss territory."

She looked at the confused Togruta.

"Let's hurry. I dread what she'll prepare if she's left to her devices for too long."

"But what _is_ the – what did you call it, Shiahree?"

"The Zih'Ahri? It's a dance."

"A- a dance?"

"A very old dance, to be correct."

"But … why a dance?"

Arkee winked.

"I changed my mind too, darling. You haven't slept so soundly in a long time and it's showing."

"It is? I don't feel much different."

"Oh, but you are. You feel much happier, more relaxed."

A mischievous smile flickered across her lips and she lowered her voice.

"And you're so much more docile when we ..."

Ahsoka blushed.

"I can't bring myself to drag you down into that hole and make you focus on dark things."

She smiled.

"So let's celebrate, instead", she said, "just you and me, our own little special day."

"You're silly", Ahsoka said, but she happily returned the smile.

When they returned from the shower, they found on their bed two long, very elegant gowns, one in white, the other, smaller, in a light shade of blue, both with exquisite golden embroidery.

On the white gown, the embroidery formed a floral pattern, starting at the chest and twirling down the long fabric. On the blue one, the pattern started at the bottom and formed flames dancing up the soft cloth.

Both gowns came with matching long silky gloves, simple flats, undergarments and stockings.

There was a small card next to the dresses and Arkee carefully picked it up, read it and sighed.

"See? That's what I meant", she said and handed Ahsoka the card.

 _The Zih'Ahri must be danced with the proper outward elegance. Consider these my gifts to you. - Crystal_

"She's crazy!", Ahsoka exclaimed, "These dresses must have cost a fortune!"

She gawked at the expensive-looking fabric and felt the embroidery on the blue gown.

"Crazy! I can't wear this!"

Arkee chuckled.

"Wear it. I think it'll suit you. Besides, there's no easier way to make an enemy for life than to give a Chiss the impression that you lack respect for their culture."

"But – "

"Wear it", Arkee insisted, "don't tell me you're not curious about how it looks on you."

"Well ..."

Ahsoka looked again at the beautiful blue gown with the fire embroidery.

"Can't hurt to try it on", she mumbled, sighed and let the towel she had wrapped around her body fall to the ground. Then slowly, she slid into her new clothes.

"How do I look?", Ahsoka asked bashfully.

Her face was red, her heart thumping loudly as she slowly pirouetted for Arkee.

"A dream."

Arkee had been staring at the young Togruta the whole time she had been struggling with the long gown, and now, she skipped over and kissed her.

"A blushing bride, just about to be wed, but with a wild fire burning inside her."

Ahsoka hadn't thought it possible for her head to become any hotter, but apparently, it had been. She was definitely burning, now.

Looking at the ground, she mumbled something that should have sounded like _'thank you'_ , but her voice refused to work properly.

Then it was her turn to stare as the white Anzat slipped into _her_ new gown, which – as Ahsoka noted with a bit of envy – took a lot less time than she had needed with hers.

"Do I look ok?", Arkee asked and pirouetted in much the same way Ahsoka had.

Ahsoka looked at the soft fabric spanning over the white skin and the golden embroidery's gradually merging into the long light hair of the Anzat's. The chest part was a tight fit, beautifully accentuating Arkee's large breasts and the lower parts of the gown with the same kind of A-line cut as her own was happily dancing around the white woman as she twirled.

"Darling?"

Picking up her jaw, Ahsoka shook her head.

"Are you kidding me? 'Ok' doesn't do this justice; you look marvellous!"

Her lover smiled.

"Thank you, darling. Shall we?"

"Sure, but …"

The young Togruta hesitated.

"These dresses, they even have trains. How do you _walk_ with these things?"

Arkee chuckled.

"Slowly."

* * *

It was hard not to draw attention, the way they were dressed. Ahsoka tried her best to mimic Arkee who seemed to have not only no particular trouble with her dress but also the capability of gracefully ignoring the impolite stares from their surroundings.

"Stand tall", her teacher whispered, "think yourself royalty, you're above _them_."

"That seems a very arrogant position to take", Ahsoka whispered back.

"Oh it is", Arkee grinned, "but it beats being embarrassed."

And it was working. After a while, Asoka didn't even notice the stares anymore.

"This feels weird", she mumbled, "but ..."

But she liked it. She was ashamed to admit it, but gradually, she started to enjoy looking down on the scum surrounding her; she liked feeling superior.

A glance at Arkee told her she didn't need to say it, the white Anzat already knew.

"My naughty, naughty girl", she remarked, "have the Jedi taught you nothing of humility?"

"They tried", Ahsoka answered with a sheepish grin of her own, "they failed. And my new master is more fun."

"So what kind of dance _is_ this Zih-Hary?", Ahsoka asked as they sat down to eat, "and why is Crystal so excited about it?"

"Well, I expect she's just happy to see some display of Chiss culture on Coruscant, and curious about the dance itself", Arkee answered.

 _I haven't_ actually _seen the Zih'Ahri performed, and to think that two outsiders …_

Ahsoka shook her head.

"How can you know a Chiss-dance Crystal doesn't?"

"She didn't say she didn't _know_ it, just that she hasn't _seen_ it. An important difference, as you've witnessed her pointing out. She grew up here on Coruscant."

Arkee smiled at the confused Togruta.

"I was very young, even by human standards. The dance already was archaic then. My master had made a friend out of a Chiss and was invited to his wedding. As his padawan, I too was allowed to attend."

The grey eyes grew calm, distant, as the old Anzat recalled her memories.

"Awful company. I was still inexperienced in the ways of the force, but even I could feel the contempt with which the other guests looked down on us non-Chiss nuisances. My master didn't seem to be bothered by it at all, but I remember I was very frightened."

Arkee smiled.

"And then there she was, this newly-wed girl. Long white gown, bright red eyes, pristine blue skin and radiating so much joy it drove away all the ill feelings that had surrounded me. I didn't know much about the Chiss, but she was the most beautiful thing I would see that day."

Ahsoka felt a gentle tug at her left hand. Slightly confused, she let Arkee use the force to pull her arm up and extend it across the table.

"She offered her hand to her husband, and he took it."

To match her narration, Arkee extended her own right arm and gently grasped Ahsoka's hand with her own.

"They bowed, and she twirled into his arms. They looked each other in the eyes. She put her hand onto his chest – right here."

Arkee pointed at her sternum.

"And he stepped back, breaking her balance, and picked her up. Then while carrying her, he began to dance through the room. A simple dance with a periodical spin. Around me, the crowd erupted into chants but the dancing couple only had eyes for each other, and I only had eyes for them."

The white woman chuckled.

"I'm afraid my own exclamations of joy when they finally kissed and ended the dance weren't quite welcomed by the Chiss around me, and I don't remember what I said, but after they had overcome their initial surprise, the couple smiled and bowed to me."

The grey eyes flickered softly.

"Oh, it was beautiful. I sneaked away from my master and bothered the groom so long until he finally taught me the steps. I even tried to mind-trick him into dancing it with me, when he refused, but I of course lacked the knowledge to pull it off successfully, and all it did was amuse my master who later did scold me for my attempts."

Ahsoka smiled, she could picture a mini-Arkee repeatedly waving her small hand in front of a smiling Chiss and growing increasingly frustrated. Even in her mind, it was just adorable.

Noticing the smile, Arkee blushed. Slightly, but she did.

"Well, that's the story. I've been dying to dance this with somebody ever since."

"Why wait so long?", Ahsoka asked, "I can't be the only person you ever got close to in 15 centuries."

"You aren't", Arkee confirmed, and although Ahsoka had expected this answer, she felt a bit jealous, "but I did try my best to remain professional with most of my students. _You_ are the first I ever felt comfortable with asking this."

Her initial jealousy gave way to a stronger mix of pride and embarrassment.

"So what do you say?", Arkee asked, more shyly than Ahsoka had ever seen or expected to see her, "will you dance this dance with me?"

Ahsoka nodded immediately. After Arkee's confession, she would have agreed to most anything the strange Anzat could have asked of her.

* * *

"Crazy Chiss!", Arkee mumbled.

Ahsoka didn't even manage that much, she simply gawked.

Flowers! Flowers everywhere! More flowers than she had ever thought existed on Coruscant, a planet that had always been a cold and lifeless concrete dump to her.

The tables and chairs along the walls, the expensive-looking carpet beneath them, the wooden dancing floor, everything, everything was drowning in fragrant petals of red and white, augmented by the gold of the flowers stamens and pistils. There were small wreaths on the tables, bigger ones hanging at the walls or from the ceiling and the very air was heavy from the scent of a thousand blossoms.

On their way to ballroom three, they had noticed the many people running through the corridor, carrying this, carrying that, but mostly flowers. They had wondered what this meant, and now they were staring at the source of all the fuss: Crystal.

The young Chiss was wearing an elegant dress in black and purple and happily hummed as she placed yet another grossly oversized spray of flowers and did a small dance of her own.

"Tell me, darling", Arkee mumbled slowly, "how much time have we given her?"

"A-Almost two standard hours", Ahsoka answered. Her mouth was saying it, but her mind still refused to believe it. For a while, the two females just silently stood there.

Upon seeing them, Crystal turned to the people that were helping her set up, thanked and dismissed them politely, then skipped over to the stunned couple for which she had orchestrated all this.

"You're a bit early", she greeted them, "but the music should be here shortly."

"Don't .. don't you think you might be overdoing it? ", Arkee asked carefully.

"Well.. ."

Crystal looked around.

"Perhaps a tiny bit", she admitted, "can you blame me?"

Arkee sighed resignedly.

"No, thank you, Crystal, it's very beautiful."

"How-", Ahsoka finally broke her stupor, "how did you _do_ this in less than two hours?!"

"Oh", Crystal waved her hand dismissively, "I just called in a few favours, got a bit of help. Was no trouble at all."

"A few ...?!"

Ahsoka gawked at the crazy Chiss again. A sea of flowers on a world where none grow naturally, brought all the way down to this level in under two hours, what kind of - on second thought, Ahsoka didn't want to know.

"Don't worry, I'll soon be owed new favours."

Crystal smiled secretively, then slowly circled around the other two females.

"Now let me get a better look at you. Do they fit well? Are they comfortable?"

"Hm? Oh, the dresses! Yes, they are, thank you, they are very beautiful."

"That's good. Kappa will be _so_ relieved to hear that. First told me it was really hard to find fitting dresses based on your wetsuits' sizes and my descriptions alone. And so quickly."

Ahsoka decided she wouldn't ask just _how_ Crystal had managed to get the dresses into their room that quickly, she doubted she would have received a satisfactory answer, anyway.

"But is it alright for us to have them?", she asked instead, "Weren't they expensive?"

"Bah, money!"

Yet again, Crystal dismissed the question with a wave of her hand.

"Who cares about money when you can use it for people you like? They fit you, they suit you, you should have them."

Not the answer Ahsoka had expected, but interesting nonetheless. She would need to ask Arkee just why Crystal and her father were living down here when she could afford to take that kind of position, but for now, she just sighed like Arkee before her and thanked the enthusiastic Chiss.

They waited for a few moments longer, then the doors opened and in came a slim green-skinned Twi'lek female, carrying a box that was much too large for her.

"Ah, there you are, Miyara!", Crystal ejected, then hopped over to greet her.

The girl called Miyara set down the box - quickly, but carefully, and huffed.

"Seriously, anybody else asked this of me, I'd have turned her down", she complained, "you have any idea how _heavy_ the darn thing is?! You know its hover unit is broken!"

In response to her complaints, Crystal hugged her green friend.

"Don't be like that", she said, "you know I appreciate it."

The blue-skinned girl smiled and leaned closer.

"Have I ever failed to show my appreciation?", she asked softly.

Miyara blushed and averted her eyes to escape the gentle red balls of fire that were burning into her.

"N-No", she stammered, "you've always been very kind to me."

Crystal kissed the green female on the cheek.

"And I will be again", she said, then let go of her, "Now come, you should meet them."

Ahsoka and Arkee looked at each other. Neither fully understood or believed what they had just witnessed.

"The white elegance wrapped in silver is Arkee, the orange fire contained in blue is Ahsoka", Crystal introduced them, "Aunty, Ahsoka, meet Miyara. She's agreed to be your personal music box for today."

"Don't let her protests fool you, she's _dying_ to play for somebody other than me", Crystal whispered as they watched Miyara set up.

The instrument Miyara produced from the box she had brought was surprisingly small - way too small to justify the box, actually, but as Ahsoka learned but instants later,

the "box" really was an amplifier for the instrument that looked a lot like a violin, and was played with a bow, too, but that was also producing the sound electrically and that had lots and lots of buttons all over it and the bow.

"Built it herself", Crystal continued, "and she's a true magician with it."

Miyara started a quick training sequence, and at first, Ahsoka was disappointed.

 _So what? It's a glorified violin._

She turned to Crystal who was grinning ear to ear and gestured for her to wait.

After a while, another violin joined in, then another and another, soon Ahsoka was gawking at a one-girl orchestra.

"She can store and replay tunes and patterns and manipulate them as they are replaced", Crystal explained, obviously satisfied with Ahsoka's expression, "I wish I could play it, but I'm afraid I lack her focus."

There was a touch of envy in the young Chiss' voice, but a lot of admiration, too.

"Let me make you one more gift, before you begin", Crystal said, with a slight quiver in her voice.

"You don't have to – ", Arkee started, but Crystal cut her off.

"I don't, but I want to."

Crystal led the both of them to a table upon which laid nothing but a small golden cup, a knife and a small pot out of which grew a single delicate-looking flower with a surprisingly robust peduncle.

The young Chiss affectionately caressed its soft black petals that contrasted beautifully with the light blue of its stamen and pistils.

"Isn't she beautiful?", Crystal asked, "In your tongue, I like to call her _Bloodbloom_. A crude translation, but it'll do. She's a native to Avidich, but we managed to bring her to Csilla as well. She's served as a reminder of the home I've never seen with my own eyes for almost six years, now."

Crystal picked up the small golden knife and pointed at the soil with it.

"There are small capsules in the ground where she stores a liquid to drink from when she's getting no other sustenance. When she is cut, that liquid is mixed with pollen and the resulting nectar is ejected up the hollow peduncle to attract small creatures that would spread it … or larger ones like us, who would drink it."

The blue female smiled softly.

"It's really quite delicious. They are usually harvested after three months, but ..."

She sighed and gently stroke the black petals, as if the flower was a pet.

"I couldn't bring myself to do it. She's from Csilla, she deserved better than to die for a quick and pointless drink and I was quite fond of looking at her."

Her grip on the knife grew firmer, and before either Arkee or Ahsoka could stop her, she used it to prick her left index finger. Red blood quelled from the wound and Crystal extended her hand and let it drop into the black blossom.

To their amazement, that caused the blue stamen and pistils to start glowing.

"Oh yes, she's a tricky little thing", Crystal explained, "Her black petals attract no food, but her blue internals, that's what's drawing her curious prey into a deadly trap."

Then suddenly, the young Chiss started talking to the flower in what must have been Cheunh, her native language.

"What is she saying?", Ahsoka asked.

"I'm a bit rusty", Arkee answered, "but hang on..."

After a short pause, she slowly translated.

" _Drink, my dear. For many years … you've lightened my heart with your … presence. Forgive me for keeping you this long, you must be tired. I promise ...that ..._ "

Arkee repeated a word to herself, then continued.

" _... that when you're done drinking, you may finally rest. These two –_ "

Arkee stopped again.

"I didn't understand what it is we were doing", she admitted, "but I guess she's said we're going to dance."

After listening to the next sentence, she continued.

" _And I think it's a worthy use for you ... though I will miss you dearly."_

Ahsoka noticed that although Crystal's voice betrayed no emotion, there was a faint glimmer in her pupil-less red eyes.

 _Tears?_

While Ahsoka was still contemplating on whether she should stop Crystal, the Bloodbloom seemed to have already made that decision and stopped glowing.

Crystal continued to talk and Arkee tried to translate as best as she could.

" _Done so soon?_ "

The young Chiss hesitated a moment, bowed down and kissed the delicate black petals.

" _Thank you. Now sleep ... and know that you served a higher purpose."_

There were definitely tears in Crystal eyes now, and – Ahsoka noticed – in her own as well. She wanted to stop Crystal, but by the time Arkee was done translating, it was already too late. With a single swift stroke, the sharp knife cut through the peduncle and moments later, a clear liquid erupted from the wound and Crystal skilfully caught it in the cup she had prepared.

After the fountain had dried up, Crystal brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip, then passed it to Ahsoka.

"Now you two. Drink."

Ahsoka looked at the small cup in her hand and the clear liquid it contained. She should have said something, anything, but the words wouldn't come. So she silently took a gulp. Crystal hadn't been lying, it was quite delicious.

She passed the cup to Arkee who also drank from it and passed it back to Crystal.

The Chiss took another sip and passed it to Ahsoka again, and so they continued until the cup was empty.

"It's not alcoholic", Crystal remarked, "but you will eventually feel bit of an effect. Don't be scared by it."

The blue Chiss smiled as she put down the empty cup. She took the flower she had cut and stuck it into her hair. Ahsoka noticed it had changed colours; its stamens and pistil were now black and its petals a soft purple.

Ahsoka looked at her. There were no signs of regret on her face, no indication of the tears she had seen earlier. Either Crystal had truly calmed down or she was now composed enough to hide it well.

"Ch'tra!", Crystal interrupted her thoughts, "May the gods bear witness to your dance and judge the sincerity of it."

Crystal's strange remark still in her mind, Ahsoka's heart was thumping loudly as she walked onto the dancing floor. She must be crazy to attempt a dance she knew almost nothing about, but she trusted Arkee.

 _Bow, offer hand, wait for her to take it, twirl towards her, place hand on chest_ , she repeated to herself.

Arkee had promised to take care of the dance from there on.

Still, she was nervous. Arkee seemed calm as usual, but Crystal, Crystal stared at them with big, excited eyes and she could feel her ruby gazes pierce her skin.

Miyara started playing with a single soft and slow voice.

"Ready darling?", Arkee asked.

Ahsoka nodded, and although her body was quivering, she managed nice enough a bow and extended her hand for Arkee to grasp.

"Remember", her mentor said as she took it and Ahsoka started spinning, "once we start, we mustn't break eye contact until we kiss and end the dance."

Ahsoka completed her last spin, satisfied with how she had managed to spin without stumbling, and put her hand onto Arkee's sternum.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Arkee, it seemed, was nowhere near as calm as she had appeared, for her pulse too was racing.

She looked up into the grinning Anzat's silvery eyes.

"Appearances, darling", her partner commented, "you still have to work on maintaining yours."

Miyara mixed in the first two additional voices and the music grew more solemn.

"What now?", Ahsoka asked.

"Lean into me, relax, let me show you why Zor calls me his little fly... "

Gently, the force lifted the both of them off the ground – no more than an inch – and Arkee moved both of them like puppets on strings. Slowly, they began to move in sync with the music. And the dance was rather simple, too. Two steps, followed by a rotation, that was the pattern repeated over and over again.

After a while, Arkee sat them back down onto the floor and Ahsoka was happy to find she had no particular trouble to follow the pattern by herself.

"This is a lot easier than I expected", she admitted.

"It is, isn't it?"

Arkee grinned mischievously.

"Almost too easy. Let's make a training session out of it. I want you to lift yourself off the ground. Dance without touching the floor. "

"Are you sure? I -"

"Just do it, darling. You broke our fall from stars know how far up. Certainly, you can manage an inch? And keep your eyes open and focused on mine."

Ahsoka slipped the first few times she tried, but Arkee was always quick to pull off a move that hid the mistake and faked an intentional maneuver. After a while, though, Ahsoka figured out just how much she's had to pull and where for everything to work out.

"Very good", her teacher commented, "now, follow me."

Gradually, Arkee increased the height at which she herself was hovering and Ahsoka did her best to match it. Before long, they were dancing through the air as if on solid ground, soon higher, soon lower, twirling through Crystal's sea of flowers.

Ignoring Crystal's and Miyara's initial exclamations of surprise, Ahsoka lost herself in the depths of Arkee's eyes. There was no warning, nothing that would have told her, this would happen, it just did. Something magical drew her away, far into Arkee's grey eyes, so deeply, there was simply no more room for anything else.

She let go of her thoughts; they didn't matter anymore. She forgot where she was and why. She forgot Crystal and Miyara existed. She forgot the flowers. She even forgot what she was doing and her body all but danced on its own.

All her thoughts, everything she felt, was fixated on her dancing partner with the wonderful silver eyes.

"I never noticed how blue your eyes are, darling", Arkee remarked, "I was in your head, I basically swallowed you whole, and I remained oblivious."

"It … it's happening to you too?"

"Oh yes … yes, there's definitely something happening. And I want it to."

"But why ..."

Why what? What was she going to ask?

Ahsoka raised her hand and gently caressed Arkee's cheek.

Did the question really matter?

What question? Was she going to ask something?

"Bloodbloom ...", Arkee mumbled

"What?"

"I don't know, did I say something?"

Ahsoka laughed and let her fingers glide over her lover's cool skin.

"I can't remember! I can't think! You're so beautiful! And your eyes! Stars, your eyes!"

Unable to look away, Ahsoka was pulled even deeper into the silvery abyss.

"I'm drowning, darling!", Arkee exclaimed, "Drowning! There's so much of you!"

She too started laughing.

"This is wonderful! Drown me, darling!"

Ahsoka later couldn't recall for how long they had remained in that state, but eventually, their heads cleared up a bit and Crystal's gentle voice reached them.

"Zih, zih, AH-reeh!", it was singing and it repeated the words over and over again, "Zih,zih, AH-reeh! Zih, zih, AH-reeh! ..."

"What is she singing?"

" _Zih'Ahri_ , a ten thousand years", Arkee explained, "an ancient Chiss dialect traditionally used for this dance; she's praying for our happiness to last that long."

"We - we won't last ten thousand years", Ahsoka mumbled in trance.

Arkee chuckled.

"That's the point, darling."

She placed her forehead on the little Togruta's and smiled.

"But it's funny, you know?"

"What is?"

"I originally started to collect Jedi drop-outs as some kind of juvenile _'screw you'_ towards the Jedi Order. Most didn't interest me much, I just wanted to prove that they were worth something and hoped they would confirm that walking a silver path without succumbing to the dark side was possible. But you … with you, everything was different."

Her voice grew softer.

"I cried when I learned what had happened to you. More than anything, I wanted to find you, hug you, and when I did … I couldn't help myself."

The silver eyes glittered gently.

"I am the predator", Arkee growled, " _I_! And _you_ are the prey."

She playfully scratched at Ahsoka's back with her finger nails and whirled them around more violently.

"Although I do not hunt, these are the roles nature has ordained for us. I never tasted what my species call the _soup_ , I never felt the addiction of my people … until now."

The last two words had been but barely more than a whisper.

"You are the soup I never knew, darling", she continued, "my very own personal addiction."

Ahsoka hadn't expected this, but hearing it gave her a warm feeling.

"If I am", she answered softly, "you are welcome to feed on me anytime."

While the white woman had spoken, the two dancing females' lips had grown ever closer, and already, they could feel each other's breath on their skin.

"I want to kiss you, darling", Arkee whispered.

"You are the predator."

Ahsoka smirked.

"Never ask for my permission, just do it."

And the Anzat did.

As the hungry white lips grasped her own, Ahsoka finally allowed her eyes to close, immersing herself in the soft feeling that gently forced her mouth open to make way for another kind of soft feeling to push into her.

"Zih'Ahri a Ki-Marad!", Crystal all but shouted as the two dancers kissed.

"A ten thousand years", Arkee explained as their lips eventually parted again, "and beyond death."

She hugged the orange teen tighter and kissed her again.

"It seems, darling, we'll be happy for a long time."

Ahsoka grinned.

"Kiss me again and I know I will be."

Smiling, the old Anzat complied.

"That – was – amazing!", Crystal commented, "Your dancing technique could be improved, but I never expected you to fly! And you seem so natural, together."

The young Chiss was fidgeting so much, it could almost be called dancing.

"I want to marry too, now."

Confused, the both of them looked at each other, then back at the Chiss.

"What do you mean, ' _too_ '?, Arkee asked.

"Why, like the two of you just did, of course. There's no way I'm marrying the boring modern way, now. I certainly won't be able to fly, but ..."

"Hang on a moment, Crystal", Arkee interrupted her, "Could you remind me what the Zih'Ahri is, exactly?"

Crystal tilted her head.

"What it is, exactly? I don't understand, but … it's an ancient wedding ceremony, of course, during which it is said the gods bind the souls of the performers to each other. It's gone out of fashion a few centuries ago, as fewer and fewer people believed in gods, but due to its romantic nature, it's making a frequent appearance in folklore."

Stunned, Ahsoka looked at the white woman to her side... and laughed. And laughed! How could she not?! For the very first time - and quite possibly the only time she ever would - she saw her teacher, her usually so composed lover, completely shocked and in a state of utter surprise and embarrassment.

"You ... didn't know?! ", Crystal asked.

Her red eyes had grown wide and she was gawking at the blushing Anzat and the laughing Togruta.

"Well, that explains a lot", Arkee mumbled, "I thought it was just a wedding _dance_."

Crystal clasped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm … I'm so sorry! I - I thought-"

Arkee raised a hand to stop her.

"What's done is done", she said, then turned to Ahsoka. "Darling?"

"I -", Ahsoka started, but immediately fell silent in surprise.

"What are you doing?!"

She watched in disbelief as the proud Anzat bent the knee and sank down in front of her.

"Well, I guess usually, this is done in reverse order", Arkee said, heavily blushing.

The Force pulled Ahsoka's hand forward and Arkee grasped it.

"But there's hardly anything usual in our relationship, is there?"

She smirked and looked up into Ahsoka's eyes.

"So, darling ... will … will you stay with me until fate destroys either of us?"

Rendered speechless by the shock, Ahsoka couldn't do anything but stare at the white woman at her feet and for a moment, time itself simply froze.

Although the hand that grasped hers felt calm, controlled, Ahsoka knew that to be a facade. She could feel a veritable storm of emotions within the kneeling female, even though her outwards appearance would never have revealed that fact.

She was envious of Arkee's ability to control her body, for she herself was shacking from all the adrenaline shooting through her own, and her mind ran wild, creating a firework out of her shredded thoughts.

 _What?!_

"Please don't make me ask again, it was embarrassing enough the first time."

Slowly, Ahsoka's opened her mouth, but nothing came out of it but air.

She waited a moment, then she tried again. This time, her vocal chords obeyed, though her voice quivered as she spoke.

"A-Are you asking ..."

"I am."

"And this … I mean … seriously?"

"Yes."

Ahsoka's chest was hurting. Her breath was quick and shallow and her heart was thumping so hard as if to break her rips.

This was crazy! Crazy! They had only known each other for a few months! They were both females! They weren't even the same species!

She gazed into the expecting silvery eyes beneath her … and smiled.

Yes, they were quite insane. But it was a good insane, a happy insane.

"I - I … I …"

The hammer in her chest struck with every syllable her lips formed.

"I will", she wheezed, "now stand up and kiss me before my heart gives out!"

As the noticeably relieved Anzat raised and approached her, she caught a glimpse of Crystal. The young Chiss had tears in her eyes again, but of a different kind than before. Her heartfelt smile left no room for error, these were tears of joy.

* * *

Hours later, the two females returned to their room.

Crystal had insisted on teaching them a Chiss dance that really was just a dance.

They had drunk some kind of tea with biscuits – Ahsoka almost lost a tooth until Miyara mentioned they were meant to be macerated in the tea – they had talked and laughed a lot … but only now that they were alone and it was finally quiet, did Ahsoka truly realised what she had done, today.

"So … I have a wife, now", Arkee remarked matter-of-factly.

There was a moment of silence, then they both started chuckling.

"Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"Definitely", Ahsoka agreed.

Still, perhaps it was good, like this? A fresh start, a new life …

Ahsoka smiled, but her smile grew bitter.

"Say … do you think we could leave Coruscant?"

"Hm? Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know … it's just … there are many memories, here, I would prefer to forget. The Jedi … my old masters ..."

 _Barriss' betrayal._

It still hurt, thinking about Barriss. The one friend she had trusted completely, unconditionally...

Ahsoka shook her head.

"Just take me away. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere far from the Jedi … perhaps outside the republic? I would love to see Crystal's homeworld."

"Csilla?"

Arkee raised an eyebrow, then grinned.

"A bit cold a honeymoon location. Most people would choose something warmer."

Ahsoka blushed and looked down.

"That's beside the point", she mumbled.

The white Anzat chuckled in reply.

"I know, darling, I know. Zor should be able to get us off Coruscant without the Jedi's knowing and then … just the two of us and the stars."

A smile flickered across the young Togruta's orange lips.

 _I would like to believe that._

Carefully, Ahsoka folded her clothes and put them into a basket in the wardrobe, then reached for a fresh Pyjama.

"What are you doing, darling?"

Her partner embraced her from behind and snuggled her head into her sensitive lekku. They were both naked, and Arkee's body felt both, cool and hot, at the same time.

"Don't you know what follows a wedding?"

"W-What follows it?", Ahsoka asked, her heartbeat growing louder with excitement.

"A wedding _night_ ", her lover whispered and kissed her lekku.

"Come, my darling _wife_ ", Arkee continued; she obviously enjoyed emphasising _wife_ , "I will give you pleasure until you scream for mercy … and then some."

Her face was flushed red, but Ahsoka allowed the woman behind her to gently lead her towards the bed, where she was turned around, kissed and then pushed down onto the soft mattress.

She slid up a bit so her whole body was on the bed and in doing so, bumped her montrals against something.

"Hm? What's that?", Arkee asked

There was a small rectangular box lying on the bed and a card on top of it. Arkee had crawled on top of Ahsoka, so she was in a better position to pick it up.

" _My apology for an interrupted morning_ ", Arkee read aloud, "and signed by _'C'_. What's the crazy girl come up with, now?"

She opened the box with one hand … and grinned.

"What is it?", Ahsoka asked. Lying on her back beneath Arkee, she couldn't see into the box, but that grin sent shivers down her back.

Without saying a word, Arkee reached into the box and pulled out a small black harness. On one side of it, there was a blue plug of some kind, held in place by a strap. At the front of it, there was a small mechanical plate from which extended something long, blue and … phallus-shaped?

" _That_ , darling, is going to make this night _very_ interesting."

Arkee's grin widened.

"See?", she pointed at the plug on the inside, "that plug is going into me."

She tapped at the plate.

"And this will control it and make sure I'm well-stimulated whenever I move. Whereas this part ..."

Her pale finger slid down the full length of the toy before she continued.

"... this part, will drive you crazy."

She looked at the young orange female beneath her.

"That is, unless you want to change roles?"

Ahsoka looked at the thick blue dildo. She had experimented with insertions before, of course, but had used nothing that was larger than her fingers. The thought of being impaled on the blue toy was scary … and exciting. To be pushed down into the bed or against a wall while that … _thing_ penetrated deep into her ...

She shook her head.

"Y-You are the predator", she answered, trying her best to hide her anticipation, "never ask my permission, just take me."

Arkee licked her lips.

"Excellent answer, darling."

The white Anzat reached into the box again and pulled out a small bottle of lube. Then she crawled down from the bed and stood up.

She applied some lube to the internal plug and gasped when she pushed it into herself. After she had fastened the harness' straps, she started lubing up the longer part with which the little Togruta was going to be violated. Ahsoka watched her closely.

"Don't worry", Arkee offered, "I don't know whether your species has hymens, but even if they had, you would have torn yours a long time ago with all these Jedi acrobatics. This shouldn't hurt."

Satisfied, the white woman eventually stopped, grabbed Ahsoka by the ankles and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed.

"Of course I'll also make sure you're sufficiently wet and ready."

She knelt down kissed Ahsoka's leg.

"Although by the looks of it, you've almost taken care of that yourself. Judging by the wetness down here, you're very eager to try this out, aren't you?"

Ahsoka didn't answer but blushed instead.

Arkee chuckled. She kissed the orange leg again, then gently suckled on it as she let her lips crawl up towards Ahsoka's crotch.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and tilted her head away. When she was pulled to the edge of the mattress, her arms had been pulled above her head and she had left them there. It almost felt as if she had been chained to the bed and the idea aroused her greatly.

Gently, the white beast's hot claws were pulling her legs apart, spreading her open.

She didn't have time to feel embarrassed about that because the very next moment, The long wet tongue that had slid across her skin slipped into her nether regions where it found her little lust-centre and wrapped itself around it.

She fought it for a moment, but when Arkee gently sucked on her clit, she could do nothing to prevent a moan from escaping her.

"Hm … you really _are_ much more docile when you're happy", the hungry Anzat teased.

There was no time to come up with a witty reply for already, the long wet feeling tapped into her lap again.

Ahsoka arched her back and moaned, but her assailant had other ideas than to get her away with just that. Hugging her at the waist, the white beast started to eat her and though the helpless Togruti prey would flail, that's the most it could do.

"Arkee!", Ahsoka screeched, "I – I can't … I -"

But the soft quivers of her body only spurred her lover on. She grabbed the first thing her hands found – a pillow – and hugged it tightly, then her world turned white.

The heavily breathing weak Togruta teen looked up at the grinning Anzat that was looming over her. She had seen the glistening white body many times. The long light-golden hair, the gentle but mischievous face, the soft tits … this time, though, something alien was threatening her; a long blue spear where her lover's snitch should have been.

Arkee pushed Ahsoka up, a bit, then crawled onto the bed herself and placed the new torture device at the opening of her throbbing orange lust cave.

"You seem ready", she simply stated, and Ahsoka huffed in reply.

Excruciatingly slowly, the foreign toy inched into her, bit by bit, until after an eternity, the full length of it was buried in her small body.

"Ah!", Ahsoka moaned, "This… this feels … strange."

"Hrr ...", Arkee growled, "but is it a bad strange?"

The spike within her retreated then carefully pushed back into the empty space it had left behind, torturing another moan out of the young Togruta as her ancient lover started a slow rhythmic pattern with her hips.

"I – I don't know! Th-nh! This is m-making … making it hard to … think."

Ahsoka hugged the pillow she was holding more tightly.

"Why are you holding on to that, darling?"

"B-because ..."

"Doesn't matter."

The devious Anzat grinned, then swiftly pulled the pillow out of her victims hands and threw it off the bed.

"No hiding from me, no escape – you're mine!"

The white woman lowered herself onto the body beneath her and hugged the shivering girl.

"Much better", she commented, "I can kiss you, like this."

And as if to prove her point, she did.

Ahsoka hugged the white body upon her.

It was scary, still scary, to be penetrated that deeply, filled so completely.

But, she realised as her assailant nibbled on her lips, she was happy.

Again and again, the white hips slammed against her, sending a shock through her body every time the long blue spike impaled her, while her lover's gentle hands massaged her back and their tongues clashed in an erotic dance.

Embarrassing as it was to admit, she loved this ... and she wanted more.

"This – nh! This is … ah-mazing!"

She kissed the white shoulders in front of her and licked at Arkee's slender neck.

Then quite unexpectedly, Arkee shrieked and started moving her hips faster and with a lot more force.

"This damn – thing! Just … started vibrating harder", she groaned, all further words were replaced by hot moans.

Ahsoka laid there, and took the violent onslaught that mercilessly rammed her deep into the soft mattress. She grinned.

Her mischievous fingers found their way in-between the two of them and she grasped the hard nipples that had been poking against her for quite a while, now.

First, she teased them, gently tugged on them, but soon, she was kneading the with all her might.

"Don't do that, darling!", Arkee screeched, "Not now!"

But Ahsoka didn't listen. She pinched and twisted the little buds and in no time at all her efforts were rewarded.

Arkee bucked one last time, then came in an orgasm that shook the whole bed.

"That was sneaky", she complained weakly, lying on top of the orange girl that had kicked her over the edge and breathing heavily.

"Prey one, predator zero", Ahsoka commented, making both of them grin.

"Do be careful, darling", Arkee replied, heaving herself back up, "the predator's promised you pleasure beyond the point where you beg for mercy."

Without ever pulling the toy completely out of her, Arkee grabbed Ahsoka by the waist and turned her onto her belly.

A soft quiver went through the orange body as the white beast lowered herself onto her and pressed itself against her back.

Nimble fingers slid in-between her and the mattress and cupped her breasts.

"And she intends to keep that promise", Arkee whispered, then rammed the toy back into the orange hole where it belonged.

Ahsoka shrieked – half in surprise, half in arousal – as the violent rhythm from before quickly returned.

"Do you remember how we first met?", Arkee growled threateningly, then kissed the softly whipping lekku, "I remember we found a little weak spot of yours."

Ahsoka's eyes grew wide when it dawned on her what her cruel lover had in mind, and though it was pointless, she started flailing.

"Dont!", she pleaded, "You can't!"

"Watch me", Arkee breathed and let her tongue glide across the sensitive lekku, up to where they joined. Instants later, the hot wet muscle slid into the folds there and electricity coursed through Ahsoka's body.

In a last, desperate attempt to keep her composure, Ahsoka bit into the mattress and dug her fingers deep into it, as if holding on to it meant holding on to her sanity.

It wasn't working.

"Yaaaaaaah!"

Finally, she couldn't help it anymore and screamed.

Arkee stopped licking and grabbed her head at the base of her lekku with both hands, instead, and holding her down, she used her thumbs to massage the most sensitive areas on Ahsoka's head.

The young Togruta howled, flailed, twisted, but all her resistance meant nothing in the firm grip of her tormentor. She wailed when Arkee sped up and drove the spike into her faster than ever before.

"See? Doesn't this feel wonderful?"

"It doesn't!", Ahsoka shrieked, "It – stars, don't! Not … there!"

"Here?"

"Nnah– no!"

The white Anzat kissed the violently bucking Togruta on her shoulder.

"Why are you lying, darling? You know I can tell."

She kneaded the soft lekku a bit harder.

"Why don't you just give in? Embrace it?"

"Ee- if I -hhh- do … I'm -nh – I'm going mad!"

The cruel woman chuckled.

"Mad is good. Mad is honest."

The murderous toy slammed into Ahsoka as if it wanted to pierce her all the way up to her neck. And before Ahsoka could recover from the shock, it did again … and again … and again.

"Let's go mad, darling", Arkee moaned.

Mad? Not a problem. Already, Ahsoka's body was disobeying her commands. She was clambering to the bed with all her might and endured the violation of what might just as well have been her brain and the incessant rhythm with which the blue spear was invading her nether regions.

She was drooling, groaning, more animal than sentient. Always, the white haze was threatening to swallow her and she was close … so very close to just letting it happen.

But while her mind was still wondering whether she could do so and still retain her sanity, her body had already made that choice for her.

She shrieked as the void swallowed her and everything turned white. And she was trembling, still, when the void returned to their bedroom.

"A wonderful reaction, darling", her lover commented as she kissed the weak girl beneath her on the cheek, "a honest reaction."

"Crazy … Anzat!", Ahsoka huffed.

Arkee rubbed her head against Ahsoka's montrals, then turned the heavily breathing Togrtua on her back again and hugged her.

"Hmm ...", she hummed, rubbing herself against Ahsoka's cheek, "but you like crazy. You _married_ crazy."

"I – I did, didn't I?"

Ahsoka grinned weakly.

"Whatever have I gotten myself into?"

"Oh", Arkee breathed, "just a world of never-ending pleasure."

She leaned in and brushed her lips against Ahsoka's to goad her into a kiss.

"Well?", she asked when their lips parted again, "Are you ready for the next round, my darling wife?"

"The – the _next_ round?! You're not serious!"

"Still 1:1, darling, and I _think_ I can make you scream even louder."

The horny white beast started to slowly move, again.

"Would it make a difference if I complained I was tired?", Ahsoka asked with a grin.

"None whatsoever."

"And if I struggled?"

"Then we would both enjoy my holding you down and taking you violently."

They looked at each other, both blushing, both grinning. The night was still young and come tomorrow, their bodies would ache from exhaustion. There were still many screams to scream, much pleasure to give and receive and as they embraced and kissed yet again, Ahsoka was thankful that the rooms were sound-proofed.

* * *

Ahsoka opened her eyes slightly, just enough to notice the room was bathed in the unmistakable blue light of an active holo table. It was hours after they had decided to actually sleep, so whom was Arkee communicating with?

"This better be important, Zor, do you have any idea how late it is?"

"Sorry, Crahsystor. But you wanted to know immediately when we had news about this Jedi-turned-traitor you asked me to keep an eye out for."

"You found Offee?", Arkee probed.

Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat. She was awake, now.

"We have", Zor confirmed, "and not a moment too soon. She is alive … for now"

"What do you mean?"

"She's scheduled for execution the day after tomorrow."

There was a brief moment of silence. No longer than it took for Ahsoka to take a breath – an eternity.

"And you're absolutely sure we can't get another visitor in before her execution?"

"You know the new laws – probably better than I do. Once sentenced, only confirmed blood relatives are admitted. We currently know of none that we could bring here in time, let alone that would be willing to take the risk."

He hesitated.

"Shouldn't we wake your companion?"

"No, let her sleep."

"She should be told."

"She will be told", Arkee agreed, "but it can wait until morning. Let her rest and enjoy what little peace the force still allows her to have. Tonight, at least."

After a brief silence, Zor sighed.

"Very well, little fly. I will defer to your judgement and make sure everybody is ready to act on a moment's notice."

"Thank you, Zor. And get some rest. We'll need it."

"I hope you will take that advice yourself. Good night, little fly."

"Good night, black monster", Arkee responded in a gentle voice.

The holo table powered down and cold darkness replaced the soft blue light.

Arkee sighed.

"I'm so very sorry, darling", she said as she slipped back into the bed and hugged the small Togruta, "so very, very sorry."

 _Why are you sorry?_

Or at least that's what Ahsoka wanted to ask, but she couldn't open her mouth. She felt dizzy, all of a sudden, and it cost her all the mental strength she could muster to just stay awake.

"Sleep, darling", Arkee's hypnotic voice echoed through her mind, "sleep. Forget what you just heard, let nothing bother you this night."

 _What – what are you doing, Arkee? Why are you ..._

The white woman snuggled her head into Ahsoka's lekku.

"Sleep", she whispered again, "and dream something beautiful – the most beautiful dream you could have. Will you do that for me?"

Ahsoka could feel her consciousness slipping away. Already, she was more asleep than awake and even if she had wanted to fight it, it was much too late to do anything.

"Dream, my darling."

Sleep took her, and the very last things she felt were Arkee's tears as she was being kissed on the cheek.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
** What a chapter. I do apologise for the long wait. Part of the reason it took me so long was that I originally had a completely different chapter in mind. Then as I was writing, I thought to myself: I really am a cruel bastard.  
I've driven Ahsoka near-mad from loneliness, chased her through the underworlds of Coruscant, had her abducted and raped, gave her nightmares, threw her from a tower and exposed her to the dark side of the force ... certainly, I could afford to give her a more gentle chapter, for once? A bit of a break?  
And to be quite honest, I enjoyed writing this - as I hope you enjoyed reading it.

I'm sorry if the people who already read my preview on Deviantart were confused at the beginning of the chapter, but I decided to push that preview to the beginning of the _next_ chapter.  
The next chapter, we're finally adding Barriss to the equation - something I've been looking forward to ever since I started this story. It will quite probably be faster paced than this one and it will be exciting to see what Ahsoka will do to Barriss - IF she manages to reach her, that is.

As always, I welcome any feedback you would give. Let me know what you liked and what you didn't and I'll see if I can't incorporate your feedback into my future writing.  
Remember to follow me or this story if you wish to receive an alert when I post the next chapter.

Oh, and one last thing. Speaking of Deviantart, as a commission, I've provided artist "Raikoh-illust" - my favourite source of barrissoka imagery - a quick description of Arkee, a couple pointers into the direction I was aiming for, and he's gone and created his "Silva Woman".  
Urls don't seem to be working, here, so if you're curious, either find him on deviantart or contact me for a link.  
I thought it quite beautiful, actually.

Ps:  
I've been told my chapters on FF can be hard to read, sometimes. I apologise, but I create my stories as .odt documents, then upload them here. I don't have much control over what FF does with them.  
Contact me if you want pdf versions of my chapters. I'd post download links here, but I can't get the urls to work.


	5. Ch5 - Orange Fury

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.5: Orange Fury**

 _They are coming for me, I can feel them. I can feel their thirst for my blood cut through the force, like your skilled sabres through a battledroid. This wasn't at all how I had pictured this would play out._

 _And to my amazement, Ahsoka, I'm not afraid. I'm not even interested in what they would do to me. All my thoughts are with you and you are all I care about._

 _You must hate me by now, don't you?_

 _I don't blame you, I would too. I just … wished it hadn't come to this. You of all people, you I had never wanted to find out._

 _What have I done?_

Barriss was sitting in the middle of the small bright cell that had been her prison for months, now. Her eyes were closed, her mind focussed as she hovered in deep meditation.

 _My dear friend – yes, I consider you a friend, still – I will never see you again. I will die today, and you will curse my name as I do. And when my cold body is thrown away and discarded, you will rejoice in seeing my corpse burn._

 _Will my death satisfy you?_

 _More than anything, I regret that this will be the last image you have of me: a traitor, a backstabber, a terrorist._

 _How stupid I was. I'd rather have died than see you hate me, but when you went to see Letta and she was about to reveal to you that I was behind it all, I panicked. I had been so sure your contempt for her would prevent you from ever talking to her and then this ... I had no choice, she needed to be silenced._

The green female sighed.

 _But of course you would be taken prisoner, in her stead._

 _That's when I committed my second error: I helped you escape._

 _I thought if you'd go into hiding, they'd eventually forget about you. Unfortunately, I was seen when I made my escape, and again, my hand was forced._

 _Great, like you would go into hiding now. I knew you better than that, I knew you wouldn't stop until you found the culprit … or somebody you thought to be the culprit._

 _Imagine my surprise when I learned you had teamed up with Ventress._

 _This was an opportunity._

 _I don't know what kind of deal the two of you had made, but if I could make you think that she had been behind it all, then perhaps … just perhaps …_

 _I thought that if I dumped you onto these explosives, you'd think she attacked you because she didn't want you to find them._

 _But we were seen._

 _Once again, these stupid clones and your damn master got in my way._

 _And even worse, these cursed Jedi_ 'masters' _in their_ 'wisdom' _not only expelled you from the order but also handed you over to the republic._

 _Fools!_

A dark ripple of anger filled the room. This wasn't good, she needed to remain calm.

There was no emotion, only peace. No passion, just serenity. She would remain in harmony with the world until she became one with the force.

 _What could I do now?_

 _I was just meditating on a possible plan to get you out of this when your stupid master thought it a good idea to attack me with my own lightsabre. I had to defend myself – and fell into his trap._

 _So now he knew._

 _But there was still a chance to make this right, I just needed to remove Skywalker._

A short burst of laughter escaped Barriss.

 _Remove Skywalker! Yeah, simple as that. Except he got reinforcements, so I needed to remove him_ and _four guards. No big deal, but more than I was comfortable with facing at the same time._

 _I escaped through a window – another mistake, because I had to add another master and a bunch of younglings to my list of people to remove. And I would have. I would have slaughtered the entire Jedi Order if it meant preventing you from learning the truth. What did they matter, warmongers and soldiers they had become?_

 _Only you … just you …_

 _But in the end, your master proved too much._

 _The only way I could help you now, was by telling the truth, even when it meant losing you._

Loud steps echoed on the corridor outside.

They were close. Soon her meditation would be interrupted.

 _Oh, Ahsoka! If only you knew how it pained me to see your face when you found out._

 _It ripped my heart apart. Your master's lightsabre blows were a joy in comparison!_

 _I could offer you nothing. Nothing! No explanation, no apology, not even a last gentle word; I was led away and you were gone._

The door slid open.

"Get down here, witch!", her jailer's harsh voice whipped.

Barriss opened her eyes and let the force carry her down onto the ground.

"Your paws!"

She extended her arms and let herself be shackled.

"Move!", she was commanded, charming as always.

Outside her cell, she was expected by a group of five guards in identical black armour, their faces hidden behind masks, not unlike these ceremonial guards the chancellor had. They were all carrying identical lightsabres on their belts, but what they pointed at Barriss were high-energy blasters.

"She's all yours", her jailer said from behind her, "I only wished I could be there when it happened. See the little traitor's face when her head is struck from her shoulders."

Satisfied with how she was shackled, the black guards surrounded her wordlessly, two to each of her sides, one leading and silently, they moved her away.

"Enjoy your journey, traitor!", she heard her jailer yell, "It will be the last you ever take."

Then finally, it was quiet again.

 _I had many visitors while I was imprisoned. I talked to none, that wouldn't stop them from talking to me._

 _They told me you left the order after being cleared of the charges._

 _Good decision. I don't want you to die as glorified cannon fodder on some battlefield in this stupid war the Jedi prolong._

 _And I hope that wherever you are, you will find joy._

The black guards loaded her into a closed glider and silently gestured for her to sit down. She did and the glider started immediately.

 _As for me …_

 _One of my visitors' smuggled me a lightsabre. Didn't want me to die, she said._

 _You've been in these cells, you know there's no place to hide anything. So I hid it in the only place I could – my womb._

 _It's still there. They don't suspect a thing. I bet if I wanted to, I could easily cut down these guards and make my escape._

 _But I won't use it._

 _What's the point? You're gone who knows where and you're hating me._

 _There's nothing left for me._

 _So I will die with some dignity. And I will hope that by doing so, I can at least help you make peace with what happened._

The glider came to a halt and the silent guards led her outside and to a large durasteel door.

Never saying a word, they passed the clones guarding the entrance.

The door slid open and closed behind them again. After the first was locked, a second door in front of them slid open, and it too would close after they had gone through.

Barriss walked the narrow walk to the small platform in silence, her head hung.

 _Well, I guess this is it._

Having reached the platform, she knelt down in front of a hooded guy with an oversized vibro-ax that must have been her executioner and let the single guard who had led her across the narrow walk chain her to the energy pillars to her sides.

He then walked back to the other guards.

Somebody was saying something, she didn't listen, she didn't care.

Barriss tilted her head up to let the single beam of light that was illuminating the room caress her face.

Despite herself, tears began to flow out of her eyes and dripped down from her chin and onto her breasts, where they stained her beautifully clean white robe.

Her executioner powered on his vibro-ax

 _If only, I could have seen you one last time._

 _Flown my hands through your lekku, caressed your montrals._

 _If only I could embrace you like we used to._

 _Hear your beautiful voice, feel your warm skin._

 _Feel your presence in the –_

Barriss opened her eyes.

"Ahsoka?!", she whispered.

Yes, this was her! She would recognise this presence anywhere.

 _You're here!_

Ignoring the fact her excutioner had brought his axe up, she smiled like she hadn't smiled in a long, long time.

 _You're here! I can feel you!  
Thank you!  
Even if you're just here to watch me die, thank you!  
I wish I could tell you how very sorry I am for what I've done to you, but I can't. _

Finally, the executioner swung his weapon down again.

Barriss didn't care, she hardly even noticed.

 _Goodbye, Ahsoka._

 _Goodbye, my love._

* * *

"This is impossible!"

Ahsoka stared at the holo table displaying the execution chamber.

"I insist that this is impossible!"

"Darling ..."

"No! I won't believe this! I can't!"

The shocked Togruta's eyes were quivering and she felt sick. The room in the holo was looking the way she had seen it a thousand times in her dreams – _exactly_ like she had seen it.

"Calm down, darling!"

Out of all the people in the small room, Arkee was probably the only one that could understand why such a harmless thing as an architectural holo could upset her so much. And her lover's soothing voice was a balm for her soul. Still ...

"Calm down?! I'm going to kill Barriss! I'm going to kill my friend! I'm going to ram an axe into her and split her body apart! How can I calm down?!"

"Of course you won't!"

Desperately trying to find the right words, the white Anzat continued to speak calmly.

"It was just a dream. Remember? You were sleeping, and – "

" _This_ was a dream!"

Ahsoka pointed at the holo.

"This! And yet reality looks every bit my _dream._ The Force found it funny to torture me with a vision!"

"Maybe", Arkee admitted, "but if there's one thing I've been trying to teach you, these past few moths, it's that you aren't a slave to the Force; rather, the Force serves you. It's an ally when you allow it and a tool when you need it."

Arkee placed her gentle hands on Ahsoka's shoulders.

"I don't know if you had a vision, nor could I understand it, if you did. But remember, the future is _always_ in motion, _always_ mouldable. Don't let your fear of what _might_ happen decide what _will_ happen."

"I – I ..."

Arkee gently forced Ahsoka's head up and looked into her eyes. The affectionate silver gaze calmed the upset teen almost instantly.

"Yes?"

Ahsoka hesitated, then nodded.

"That's my girl."

The gentle Anzat hugged her, then kissed her on the forehead.

"And if you don't like the future we end up with, we'll simply change it."

She waited until Ahoska stopped quivering, then turned to Zor who was standing at the holo table, keeping her arm on Ahsoka's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?"

Zor and Crystal had watched the scene in silence and although Chiss generally prefer not to show their emotions, their worry was written all over their faces.

The four of them and less than a dozen or so other people Ahsoka didn't know were standing around a holo table in a large control room hidden below Zor's office.

There were monitors everywhere displaying information of various kinds about this Jedi or that. Huge maps and holos of buildings were omnipresent.

Ahsoka had been surprised to learn that Zor was not only a good friend of Arkee's, but also the head of her "eyes" on Corucsant – and she was even more surprised to learn that Crystal herself had been just as clueless as she.

"Er … as I was saying ..."

The old muscular Chiss coughed.

"There are one-way windows for witnesses here, here and along the full size of this structure."

He pointed at the corresponding places in the holo.

"As of now, we know the Chancellor will be present, as will a delegation of the senate. Usually, there would also be a delegation from the Jedi Order, but we're in luck. The target is – or rather was – a Jedi. As such, there were security concerns about Jedi presence so the senate deemed it provident to deny the Jedi their delegation."

"Can we smuggle operatives into that senate delegation?", Arkee asked.

"We probably could, but it doesn't help us much. The windows are reinforced and laser guarded. Whoever wants to get down to the execution platform needs to leave the building and pass the two doors that lead to the narrow walk – which is also the only way out."

The holo zoomed to the entry.

"The doors are shielded, thick enough to withstand stardestroyer-class blaster fire and constructed in a way it's physically impossible to open both at the same time. We'd have more luck shooting a hole into the walls. Given the nature of the facility, it is heavily guarded, but the guards don't enter the complex unless there is an alert. Otherwise, the small group of elite soldiers that get the prisoner are the only ones that enter, and only after the executioner has arrived."

Zor's red eyes looked at Arkee. He sighed.

"Under normal circumstances, our best bet would be to intercept the prisoner transport, take out the soldiers and disappear with the prisoner before their reinforcements arrive."

"But?"

" _But_ that's virtually impossible, this time. The target, has been declared a triple-S threat."

Somebody cursed.

"Yes, that means full program and full military support. Any glider within a mile of the transport will be intercepted, anything getting closer than half a mile will be shot down without any further warning."

"They can do that?", Ahsoka asked, slightly shocked, "They would risk civilian lives? Here? On Coruscant?"

Zor smiled weakly.

"The senate in its … _wisdom_ has decided that with the Republic's being at war and all, certain measures had to be allowed that were until recently deemed _unacceptable_ in order to prevent the escape of especially dangerous war criminals."

He shrugged.  
"The target – "

"She has a _name_ , you know?!", Ahsoka interrupted angrily.

"Of course", Zor offered, "but you know I must remain emotionally detached or it will impede my judgement."

Ahsoka glared at him. The old Chiss might have been believing what he was saying, but it just sounded too much like something the heartless Jedi would teach.

"I don't ... _care_!", she said, pronouncing every single word very clearly, "She's not a crate of womprat tails!"

Zor looked at Arkee, who simply smirked. He sighed again.

"Fine, _Offee_ is going to be escorted from her cell to the transport. Her escort will board the transport with her, leave it with her and chain her down in the execution chamber and they will guard the exit until Offee is beheaded."

The holo of the execution chamber disappeared and in its place, some kind of ceremonial black guard was displayed. Full body suits and helmets not unlike the chancellor's guards.

"That's them. We don't know much, but their equipment appears to be top notch. Experimental military visors. Targeting assistance, infra-red- and night-view, gas mask – filtering smoke and most combat agents – reinforced carb- ..."

"Lightsabres", Arkee interrupted, "They are carrying lightsabres?"

Ahsoka looked at the holo-soldier's belt. She was right.

"So it would seem", Zor admitted, "could be ceremonial in nature, but we found nothing. We must operate under the assumption they are fully-trained Jedi or similar."

"That complicates things."

"That's putting it mildly", Zor agreed, "we here are our only operatives I could gather in time. But even if we were three times as many, the only ones who can possibly stand a chance against them are you two."

He pointed at Ahsoka and Arkee.

"That means you'll be the ones retrieving the tar– rescuing Offee."

Arkee grinned.

"Not a problem. What's the plan?"

 _Not a problem?!_

Ahsoka gawked at her crazy teacher. Five skilled Jedi in combat suits most definitely sounded like a problem to _her._ But she said nothing.

"Well ..."

Zor looked at Ahsoka. He hesitated and something in his worried eyes made her feel _really_ uncomfortable. The old Chiss looked at Arkee, almost as if begging for help, then lowered his head and exhaled.

"Taking everything into account, I believe this is our best bet."

The black guard disappeared and a small man with short dark hair took his place..

"Thom Naran. Age 34, native to Corellia but migrated to Coruscant 16 years ago. Trained and employed as a starship mechanic. Fanatic anti-Jedi activist, recently arrested for goading a mob into attacking Jedi Knight Nur'al Mar and her padawan as well as spearheading said attack. Walked free due to lack of formal evidence. When Offee was sentenced to death, he volunteered for and was accepted as the first executioner of the Republic."

He looked at Ahsoka again and hesitated. And the longer he hesitated, the louder Ahsoka's heart was thumping. She knew. She knew what he was going to say. She knew, but she didn't want to hear it.

 _Don't say it! Please don't say it!_

The young Togruta quivered when Zor opened his mouth again.

"I want you to take his place."

"No."

Ahsoka was shaking, but her voice was calm, quiet, barely more than a whisper. A lie. In truth, she was screaming. She was screaming, but too paralysed to properly breath, so the soft short word was all her throat had managed to produce.

All eyes in the room were fixated on her, all of them. She must have looked horrible, for every face her frantic eyes switched to seemed worried.

"Darling ...", the white woman at her side started, but Ahsoka shook her head.

"No", she repeated.

"It's the only way to get clo– ", Zor tried, but Ahsoka wouldn't let him finish.

"I said no!", she screamed, finally finding the strength to do so, "I can't! I won't!"

The room was spinning and she almost fell but managed to grab the holo table in time.

"Have … have Arkee do it! I'll take on these black guards!"

"You'll kill five fully trained and equipped Jedi AND fast enough for them not to alert the army waiting outside, all by yourself?", Zor asked calmly.

"I … I ..."

It was impossible, she knew; if she got lucky, she probably could take on two of them simultaneously, but five? Five was definitely out of her league.

"I can't."

Defeated, she let her head hang.

"Then it's decided. Besides, Arkee's too tall. He's more your size."

Arkee placed a hand on her shoulder and the warm feeling calmed her down … a bit.

" _I don't care what Barriss has done to me, she's my friend and I do not want to see her dead_ ", she said, "these were your words exactly, no?"

Ahsoka nodded weakly. Only hours ago, Zor and Arkee had overwhelmed her with the news of Barriss' impending execution. And after months of uncertainty, she had finally managed to decide that if Barriss truly hated her, she wanted to hear her say it and if she didn't – and she hoped with all her heart she didn't – she needed to know why this all had happened. Either way, the nightmares needed to end.

"Then why are you so afraid you'll kill her?"

"I just … am", Ahsoka replied slowly, "I've killed her over and over again, night for night, and it always felt so true, so … real. I close my eyes, I can almost taste her blood, feel the resistance of her flesh as I ..."

Her voice failed, and the sentence was instead completed with tears.

Arkee hugged her, as she had done hundred of times before, and kissed her on the montrals.

"Shh, darling, enough. We'll end this."

Ahsoka gazed into her lover's eyes – these calm gentle grey seas, sparkling as if made of diamonds – and for a moment, they were all that mattered.

The room had gone quiet. Nobody dared to speak while the gentle white woman comforted the shivering orange teen.

It was Zor who spoke first when Arkee turned back to them.

"You told me she was ready for this, Arkee. If she's losing it now – "

"She's just upset, Zor. It'll pass."

"So she's up for this?"

"Darling?"

Ahsoka forced herself to smile.

"I – I am", she decided, "sorry to make you worry."

The old Chiss raised an eyebrow, but then smiled himself.

"Hang in there, flameskin, we'll get your friend out of this mess."

 _Flameskin?_

"So … where were we?"

Zor clapped his hands together.

"Oh yeah, so Ah-soka here will kill Naran and take his place. Arkee you'll join her later, we have– "

"Wait, kill?!"

If Zor was annoyed about being interrupted yet again, he knew how to hide it.

"Is there a problem?", he asked politely.

"Can't I just … knock him out or something?"

"You knock people out, they come to at unpredictable times. We're already operating on too thin a margin of error, we cannot afford unpredictability."

"What- what about locking him up, somewhere?"

"And then what? Even if we could somehow make sure he can't escape during the mission, we'd eventually have to let him go. That means he mustn't see us, mustn't hear us and must not be able to learn the location of where we're holding him. This takes a lot of time to prepare. Time we quite simply don't have. So no, you'll kill him and any witnesses to his elimination. Understood?"

Ahsoka didn't like it. She understood Zor's reasoning and she's walked away from the Jedi, but she couldn't help feeling a certain disgust at the idea of killing this Naran guy. A lifetime of brainwashing, it seemed, wasn't that easily undone.

 _So I will become a killer to save one …_

She nodded slowly.

 _For you, Barriss._

* * *

"How are you, Crystal?"

"Hm?"

The blue-skinned female sitting on the other side of the table turned to Ahsoka.

"Must have been quite a shock, finding out your father was playing spy all the time."

She, Arkee and Crystal were sitting at a small table in a dinner room and drank some steaming Sapir tea.

"Well ..."

Crystal took another sip from her cup.

"I can't pretend I wasn't surprised. I'm just glad he's including me now. But ..."

"You're angry?", Arkee asked.

"No", Crystal replied, "I just wished he gave me a more exciting assignment."

"You'll be the voice in our head and provide us with all the information we could possibly need", Arkee offered, "in a way, we're putting our lives in your hands."

"In a way", Crystal echoed, "and _in a way_ , my father succeeded yet again in keeping me contained to this damn building."

She gestured around.

"Look at all this… there's not a corner in this room I don't know by heart."

The young Chiss sighed.

"I'm tired, so very tired of it."

Her red eyes burned into her new friends with affection, but also a silent cry for help.

"The two of you were the first interesting thing to happen to me in a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. You can't possibly understand the joy I felt when you … er … used me for your meditation."

She and Ahsoka blushed.

"I want to breathe unfiltered air, feel the real sun on my skin walk the streets, meet people – _live!_ Instead, I'm suffocating in this … _hole_."

"You would stand out wherever you go. Your parents are a cautious people."

"My parents are a _boring_ people."

Arkee chuckled and took another sip of her tea.

"Well, perhaps this dilemma can be resolved."

She pointed at Ahsoka.

"My _wife_ 's decided she wants to have our honeymoon on Csilla."

Ahsoka felt her head burn with the heat of a sun and she was suddenly very interested in a particular nick in her cup.

"I was hoping you'd accompany us, help us with the policies and customs. We don't want to accidentally marry somebody or worse. And it's much easier to move through the ascendancy when you're in company of a Chiss, anyway."

Crystal's mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide. For a moment, she simply gawked at the other two females, then she caught herself and coughed.

"My father will never allow it."

"I'll talk to him."

Arkee winked.

"One day, he'll have to accept his little girl's all grown up, now."

Ahsoka could tell the 'little girl' was trying her hardest to hide her excitement, but even if she had not been force-sensitive, the blue female would have failed.

"You manage to do that", the young Chiss said with sparkling eyes, "and I'll kiss you until Ahsoka turns green from jealousy and rips me off you."

The three of them grinned at each other.

"Speaking of which, we need to thank you for yesterday."

"You're quite welcome."

"And for your last present as well", Arkee added at a much lower voice, renewing her companions' blushes.

"Ah, so you … and did it … I mean ..."

"Very", Arkee said with a broad grin, "wouldn't you agree, darling?"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?", Ahsoka mumbled, her head redder than usual, her eyes fixated on the table.

Arkee chuckled in reply, stood up and walked around the table. She leaned close to Crystal, never breaking eye contact with Ahsoka.

"Come here for a moment, Crystal", she said, then whispered something into the young Chiss' ear.

Crystal's eyes grew wide again, as she listened, and her violet blush grew much brighter.

"Is … is that true?", she asked, staring at Ahsoka.

"Of course", the white Anzat confirmed with a grin.

"Hey!", Ahsoka injected, "What did you tell her?"

"Well, I certainly know who to ask ...", Crystal mumbled and again glanced at Ahsoka. There was a strange glint in her eyes.

"I'll get it done."

"Hello?! Don't I get to have a word in this?!"

"Of course not, darling, wouldn't be much of a surprise otherwise, would it?"

She winked.

"Don't worry, I know you'll enjoy it … immensely."

Arkee's mischievous grin sent a shudder down her back.

"Crystal, tell me!"

The blushing Chiss had averted her eyes and was mumbling something.

"Don't you dare!", Arkee threatened, her grin growing ever broader.

"Crystal?!"

The blue girl shyly looked at Ahsoka.

"I … I 'm sorry", she mumbled.

"Arkee!"

"Not a word from me, darling."

Defeated, Ahsoka grabbed her cup and emptied it.

"Ye gods above, what have I done to deserve these two!", she exclaimed, theatrically throwing her arms above her head.

"Well", Arkee said, "You _have_ been a very naughty girl."

They laughed. It was good, to laugh like this.

Tonight, they would start their rescue mission, but being together like this almost made her forget about it … almost.

* * *

Ahsoka closed her eyes while she was walking through the crowded streets. She was wearing the black and grey wetsuit she had worn so many times, and the black cloak Arkee had bought when they had first come here. In the sinister twilight, she couldn't have been more than a shadow rushing through the people. Of course she wouldn't bump into anything, the force provided her with all she needed to know.

Her steps were quick and soft and under the cloak, she felt one of her sabres with her fingers. She was going to kill Naran.

 _Take a life, a Jedi must not,_ Master Yoda's teachings echoed through her head, _if at all avoid it, he can. A terrible thing, it is. Your last resort, it must remain._

"I'm not a Jedi", Ahsoka whispered, "not anymore."

 _A dark path, murder is. Consume you, it will._

"That's what you'd like me to believe, wouldn't you?"

Arkee had taught her different. _Her_ she trusted; the Jedi had taught her only sorrow.

"Black and white don't make black", she whispered defiantly, but the old green Jedi's voice remained silent.

 _You're right, you know,_ Anakin's voice replied to her instead, _Obi-Wan and Master Yoda definitely wouldn't approve of this. But sometimes doing the right thing means disobeying your teachings, finding … other ways._

Ahsoka smiled. She and Anakin had done a _lot_ of things that would have made Obi-Wan cringe, that much was certain.

"Will I ever see you again?", she whispered.

She wasn't sure she wanted to. She much preferred to remember him as she had always seen him: a great person, a great master, a great friend, and occasionally …

She shook her head to stop thinking about it. She didn't want to risk being proven wrong about him as she had been proven wrong about the Jedi.

"You understand, don't you? I have to do this. I … I can't just let Barriss die."

But of course nobody was listening to her – she was just talking to herself in meditation – and thus, it was again her memories who answered.

 _Remember, Snips, always do what you do for the right reason and the force will provide a way for it to work out._

The young Togruta gripped the lightsabre she had been playing with tightly.

"Thank you, Anakin."

She opened her eyes and looked up the tall façade in front of her. This was it. This was the building. Here, Thom Naran would die.

 _Wish you were here, Arkee. I sure could use your calming presence._

Her lover was back at the _Heaven._ Three of Zor's people were trying to adjust some kind of semi-stealth suit that should make her invisible to most mechanical eyes, such as droids and security cameras. Given how few they already were, Zor couldn't spare anybody to go with her, so here she was, all by herself … but not alone.

She reached for her headpiece and turned on the comlink.

"I'm in position", she said.

"Good", Crystal's voice came, "Go inside, there's a lift on the left side. Naran's on floor 3520, appartment D889."

The lift was slow and there were thousands of floors it had to traverse. Yet it was much too fast for Ahsoka. Her heart was racing, her hands shaking.

"I don't know if I can do this, Crystal", she whispered.

"You can, Ahsoka. You have to."

"I know … it's just … it feels wrong."

The comlink remained silent.

"Crystal?"

"I'm glad", her blue friend replied, "For I don't like it either. It would be wrong if this felt right. Certainly, this Naran isn't a very likeable character, but ..."

Crystal took a deep breath before continuing.

"We do because we must."

"We do because we must", Ahsoka echoed.

 _We do because we must_ , she silently repeated to herself until the lift halted.

"I'm going to turn the com off in case he has some detectors. I'll let you know when it's done."

"Please do be careful", the young female voice asked, "I don't want to lose you … er, I didn't mean that like it sounded! I just … I mean ..."

Ahsoka smiled. She could all but hear the nervous Chiss blush.

"Thank you Crystal. You won't."

She turned the com unit off.

Detectors? She wasn't truly worried about them. The chances of this mechanic's having some military-grade anti-spy gadgets was minimal, at best.

But she didn't want Crystal to hear what was going to happen.

A few moments later, Ahsoka stood in front of Naran's apartment.

She took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

"For Barriss", she whispered, then her mind grew calm, determined … cold.

It was amazing, she thought as she gripped her sabre, her hand was perfectly still now. Only moments ago, she had wanted to run away, now she felt almost at peace. Even her heart was beating in a slow, regular fashion. There was nothing to be excited about. The scenario had already happened, in her mind: Naran would open the door, Naran would die. The only thing left to do was to embrace the result.

Thom Naran had narrow, suspicious green eyes and for a moment, he just stared at the hooded Togruta, carefully trying to assess her intentions, before he spoke.

"Who are you?"

"A friend", Ahsoka replied, "you are in danger."

Naran looked around and seeing nobody, he turned back to the suspicious orange girl.

"From who?"

"Not here, it's not safe. Can I come in?"

Naran stared at her, he was hesitating.

"If you're lying to me ...", he started, "if this is a trick ..."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have cut you down, already."

The innocent orange girl made a worried face.

"Please … you can trust me."

After another moment of hesitation, Naran stepped aside and allowed her in, then carefully locked the door behind the orange teen and led her into a small living room.

There he pulled a blaster pistol and anxiously eyed the door.

"Now tell me", he demanded, "who is after me?"

Ahsoka ignited her saber, lopped off Naran's hand and with the same fluid motion turned and rammed the silver blade deep into Barriss' executioner.

"I am."

Naran collapsed silently, surprised and apparently oblivious to the pain he must have been feeling, then his face distorted into a grimace of hate and he glared up at the Togruti assassin above him. His lungs were punctured, he couldn't breathe, he had trouble talking and any moment now, he would lose consciousness.

"Ch – curse … you … Je...Jedi!", he wheezed.

His murderer pulled back her sabre.

"I am not a Jedi", she stated calmly, then she pierced him again.

Ahsoka watched the light fade from the small green eyes and even after she was quite certain Thom Naran was dead, she just stood there and continued staring at the lifeless body before her.

She could feel nobody else in the apartment. Nobody had seen anything. Nobody had heard anything. No witnesses.

Relieved, she turned off her sabre and put it back on her belt, then turned her comlink back on.

"It's done."

"Are you alright? You sound horrible!"

Ahsoka smirked weakly.

"I feel mildly horrible", she said, "I'm not injured, but sorry, I need some silence."

And with that she turned the com off again. She didn't want to talk to Crystal. Not like this. She felt cold, so very, very cold, and the scent of blood and burned flesh very nearly made her vomit. She was quivering, but she forced herself to stand tall and endure her disgust. It may feel wrong, but she had done the right thing – she had, hadn't she? Done the right thing? Naran _needed_ to die for Barriss to live. She knew this. she had accepted it … so why was it _still_ feeling so horrible?

The young Togruta fought back some tears and continued staring at Naran. She was responsible for his death. The least she could do was endure it.

"It's done, Barriss", she whispered, "We're both murderers, now."

* * *

"Well done, darling", Arkee commented as she bowed down to the cadaver, "you were quick to relieve him, he didn't have to suffer long."

Arkee straigthened up. She was wearing a pitch black bodysuit that Ahsoka guessed was that stealth thing Zor had mentioned.

It was morning, now, only a few hours after she had killed Naran – after she had become a murderer.

"Well done, have I?"

Ahsoka again looked at Naran's corpse.

"I feel terrible. I was a Jedi, so I've killed my share of beings, but ..."

"I know. This is different."

"Different?! I killed an _innocent_ , Arkee! I lied to him! I - I deceived him into letting me in to avoid witnesses and ..."

Her voice failed.

"And Barriss will live for it", Arkee completed the sentence for her, "You had a choice, darling: your friend or her executioner."

The old Anzat pulled the quivering Togruta close and hugged her.

"Come here. Whatever the cost, never regret saving a life dear to you. Don't let the Jedi's perverted sense of honour prevent you from doing what is necessary."

She kissed Ahsoka on the top of her head and for a moment, they just remained like that. Ahsoka snuggled herself into the gentle woman and pressed herself tightly to her chest. She enjoyed the white body's warmth that penetrated Arkee's black suit and the floral scent of her hair. Her lover had a comforting presence – she always had had – and it always made things seem so simple, so easy.

"Thank you", she whispered.

The old Anzat slowly stroke the shivering montrals, then kissed them again.

"Let's get you ready, shall we? If Zor's information is precise, you'll be picked up in about an hour."

They took everything from Naran that could have been useful to them, then threw the corpse down the garbage chute. Looking around the small apartment, they found the ceremonial clothes Naran was supposed to be wearing during the execution in his wardrobe.

"I still have a bad feeling about this", Ahsoka admitted as she put on the white pants and the matching shirt..

"We're going to be surrounded and outnumbered. You, me and Barriss against at least five Jedi and stars know how many clones. Of course you're having a bad feeling."

"You don't seem very worried about the odds."

Arkee handed her some white robe and helped her slip into it.

"I can't deny I'm nervous. But what good would worrying do? The force has always served me well and I will use it to assure our victory."

She picked up a small helmet she had brought with her. It was necessary to mask Ahsoka's montrals beneath the hood she was going to wear.

Rather than give it to Ahsoka, though, she let it drop back onto the ground.

"No, I can't let you wear that, yet."

"What are you -"

The white Anzat grabbed Ahsoka and pressed her against the wall. She growled softly. Ahsoka looked into the beautiful grey eyes as they came closer and closer and she smirked. She recognised that kind of growl.

"You're terrible, you know that?", she mumbled, then closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards. Arkee kissed her – long and passionately – and while she did, she cupped Ahsoka's breast with her hand and fondled her through the ceremonial clothes.

"We – we shouldn't", Ahsoka protested, but she did not resist, quite on the contrary.

"Oh, I think we definitely _should_."

The hungry white lips locked with her own again. They were soft, so wonderfully soft ... and warm. Ahsoka kissed her back and brought her hand up to caress her lover's face.

"I … I can feel them coming", she said, "Three guys, armed for self-defence."

"Yes … a shame"

Arkee closed her own eyes, kissed her deeper and gently sucked on her tongue.

"But I really wanted to do this before you disappeared under that … _thing_."

They kept kissing, neither wanting to stop and both knowing they soon had to.

Still, they were both breathing heavily when they eventually did.

Arkee picked up the helmet she had dropped and handed it to Ahsoka, this time.

"Don't think for a moment I'll let you off that easily. We'll set a new record, when this is all over."

Ahsoka blushed.

"I didn't know you were keeping track", she mumbled.

Arkee walked to the table where she had placed her own helmet, when she had come in, and looked at it.

"I really hate helmets."

She sighed and pulled a black headband to which a small net was attached out of the helmet.

"Turn around, darling", she said as she pulled it over her head, "I don't want you to see me put this on."

Ahsoka gawked at the flustered Anzat for a moment, then turned around.

"You're surprisingly vain."

"Well, a mechanical voice responded, "believe it or not, I'm actually a woman – you can turn around again."

The young Togruta turned and looked at the now faceless woman in the black body suit. A black visor had replaced the gentle white face and the golden hair was completely hidden beneath the dark helmet.

Ahsoka put on her own helmet and pulled the executioner's hood over it.

They were ready.

* * *

"Thom Naran? We're to bring you to the execution grounds."

"Let's go", Ahsoka answered, praying the voice changer built into her helmet was actually doing what it was supposed to, "I can't wait to see the traitor die."

One of the men gestured for her to wait.

"Sorry, Sir. Protocol. We need confirmation of your identity. If you could remove that hood, for a moment?"

"Th-there's no need", Ahsoka said, "I am Thom Naran, you've received all the confirmation you need."

"Yes of course you are Thom Naran. This way, please, Sir."

The three men surrounded her and walked her to the lift. To her surprise, none of them seemed to care about Arkee who was walking next to her, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Very impressive control, darling", her mentor sent over the communication unit, "You've grow quite powerful if you're already capable of tricking all three of them at the same time without much trouble."

"Not nearly as impressive as what you're doing", Ahsoka retorted, " _How_ are they not seeing you?"

"Oh, they _are_ seeing me. They just don't _remember_ seeing me. It's exactly what you've done to them, I just keep doing it."

"Explains the suit you're wearing."

"Yes. Can't trick soulless steel."

Their escort led them to a glider and they boarded it. Almost immediately, it started moving.

"Crystal? We're on our way."

"Yes, we have visual on your transport. Marra, Klu'u and Reg are in position. Just give the word when."

The glider was soon nearing its destination and Ahsoka gasped as she saw the landing platform filled with clones.

"They have an entire army down there!"

"And there will be as many clones at the prison Barriss will be transferred from", her teacher added.

"That's excessive!"

"She was a Jedi. Somebody up the chain of command knows what she's capable of and really wants her dead."

"We can't trick that many clones, can we?"

"Are you kidding?! It's hard enough to keep these three non-clones oblivious."

They landed and after they've left, the glider drove off again.

Arkee nodded.

"Crystal?", Ahsoka asked, "I think now would be a good time for a distraction."

"I'll give the word. One distraction coming your way ... aaand boom!"

The explosion was deafening.

An enormous fireball shot down at one side of the landing platform and clones rushed off to see what that was all about.

"Whoa", Crystal put Ahsoka's thoughts into words, "they sure used enough of that stuff.

The young Chiss chuckled.

"Distraction number two!"

Another explosion, followed by angry shouting.

Ahsoka looked at the side of the platform where the explosions had taken place. There was a mob violently protesting against the death penalty and asking for "the Jedi" to be released.

More clones rushed off to the side to help fight back the crowd.

"Excellent", Arkee commented, "this should keep them occupied for a moment and therefore blind to our presence. Let's go."

And indeed, nothing hindered them on their way to the execution chamber's entrance. Most of the clones were rushing off to the side and those who did give them a suspicious look soon decided that as the two figures hadn't raised an alarm, yet, their attention was better spent on the violent mob.

Only two clones guarding the entrance stood between them and the execution chamber, now.

"Halt!"

The two guards raised their rifles and pointed them at the two advancing females.

"State your business!"

"Thom Naran, I'm here to execute the traitor Barriss Offee."

"Approach!"

They did but were stopped in front of the door yet again.

"You were supposed to be alone. Who's this?"

"She's … er ..."

"Classified", Arkee helped her, "Star seven authority."

"I'll have to check", the clone to their right responded, "stand by."

The clone reached for his helmet.

"Oh please", Arkee exclaimed annoyedly, "I'm _sure_ that's not necessary."

"Yes of course it is. What makes – "

The clone fell silent and stopped moving. He was shaking.

"Are you alright?", Arkee asked.

"Don't move!", the other clone commanded, then still aiming at them, he addressed his partner: "K4463-Oh-832, do you copy?"

Instead of responding, the shaking clone collapsed.

"Are you alright?"

Ahsoka had taken a step towards the collapsed clone but was quickly stopped.

"I said don't move!"

"Help him!"

"Can't, captain's orders. All unknown parties must be neutralised or identified as non-hostile."

He removed the hand that wasn't at his blaster's trigger from the rifle and went for his helmet.

"Stand by for confirmation."

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

His collapsed partner started screaming and twisting. His screams reminded of words, but if they were indeed words Ahsoka did not recognise the language.

"K4463-Oh-832, what's happening?"

Nothing, just more screams.

"Damnit, Kage, talk to me!"

"Help him!", Arkee pleaded as Ahsoka before her.

"I – I can't. Captain's orders. All unknown parties must be neutralised or identified as non-hostile", he repeated.

The clone called Kage screamed louder and started twisting more violently.

"For the love of the sun, soldier!", Arkee exclaimed, "We're non-hostiles! Thom Naran is here, you haven't seen anybody else. Let him in and help your friend!"

"I … I'll let Thom Naran in and help my friend, you are non-hostiles."

He reached again for his helmet and this time, Arkee let him.

"Thom Naran is here. Let him in. Yes, he's alone. K4463-Oh-832 Is having a medical emergency. I don't know of what kind, yet … no, Naran has nothing to do with it."

The first door slid open and they hurried in.

Ahsoka heard the clone request a medic for Kage, then the door closed behind them with a heavy boom.

Arkee was breathing heavily.

"What … what was that?", Ahsoka asked.

"Another lesson, my young apprentice. If your target is not immune to mind tricks but trained to resist, put him under emotional stress. It'll make him more susceptible."

"I didn't mean that! What did you _do_ to him?"

Her teacher hesitated.

"There's a reason why mind-tricks are a subtle thing and should be used as such.

Given enough time and my Anzati heritage, I can impose my will on near everything that has a mind, but I grew nervous when he had resisted me a second time, and tried to rush things … his mind couldn't take it."

"Will he be alright?"

The black figure shook her head.

"I'm sorry, darling."

"But … there must be _something_ we can do!"

Arkee leaned against the wall.

"Would you mind? I need to catch my breath."

Ahsoka nodded.

"What do I need to do?"

"Concentrate, reach into the clone's chest. Find his heart."

Kage's heart was beating quickly and irregularly. Ahsoka carefully encircled it and tried not to let the twisting clone's random pain spikes distract her.

"And now?"

"Squash it."

"That will kill him!"

"Yes."

The second door started to slide up and Arkee detached herself from the wall again.

"His mind is in a state of utter chaos. No thoughts, no emotions, no feelings, just painful randomness."

"I – I can't do that!"

"Every moment you hesitate prolongs his suffering. End it."

"But ..."

"Fine, if you won't do it, I will."

The black figure turned and pointed her hand at the closed door behind them.

"No wait, I'll do it!"

Ahsoka didn't want to do it. She hated the thought of doing it and yet … she needed to do it.

"Everything happened because of me … I – I must face the consequences of my choices."

"It wasn't you who's done this to him", her teacher reminded her.

"No", Ahsoka agreed, "but if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have needed to do it. This is my responsibility."

Arkee fell silent and lowered her hand, again.

In her stead, Ahsoka opened her hand and gently grasped the violently thumping muscle in the force.

"I'm sorry, Kage", she whispered, then she closed her hand.

Almost immediately, the screaming clone stopped moving and the force around them, that had been loaded with his pain, calmed down.

Strangely enough, the sick feeling she had had when she had killed Thom Naran did not return. In fact, she didn't feel any different, this time.

She didn't have much time to think about that, though, for a harsh voice piped up:

"Thom Naran, please move on through the door, already!"

She and Arkee both did and like the first door before, the second closed behind them with a lot of noise.

"We're in", Arkee commented.

They were … and Ahsoka nearly screamed when she saw the execution chamber. So real … her nightmare was about to turn so very, very real, and it made her shake.

"Thank the gods", Crystal sighed, ignorant of Ahsoka's distress, "Alright, five guards will enter. Four will stay at the entrance – about where you should be standing right now – the fifth will lead Barriss to the platform and chain her down before re-joining the others."

Yes, she knew. She had seen it. The bloodthirsty vultures would wait for her to raise her axe and patiently watch until she drove that axe deep into …

"Focus!", her teacher's command cut through her thoughts, and the dreadful feeling in the quivering Togruta gradually subsided.

Arkee! Gentle, wonderful Arkee! By the stars was she grateful for her comforting presence. She'd have gone mad without her.

Come to think of it … she hadn't seen Arkee in any of her dreams. Granted, she had been pre-occupied with the axe she'd sunk into her green friend, but … she didn't know what this meant. Or _if_ it meant anything, for that matter.

"Are you alright?", Crystal asked worriedly.

"I will be, Crystal", Ahsoka mumbled, "I will be."

The young Chiss sighed.

"Alright, securing Barriss has top priority. She dies and everything we've done will be for nothing. The guards are equipped with high-performance blasters. I hear you Jedi – er, I mean ex-Jedi – can deflect blaster shots with your weapons. That's convenient. Ahsoka, once she's chained down and the fifth guard has joined the others, destroy the energy pillars and protect her."

Ahsoka nodded.

"Got it."

"Aunty, there should be a small ledge above the entrance where they installed floodlights."

They looked up.

Indeed, there were floodlights. Deactivated, though, so the only source of light in the dimly-lit room was the single ray of sunshine invading through the window in the ceiling, but it was there.

"You should be able to drop onto them from there. If we're lucky, you'll take them completely by surprise. Strike when Ahsoka destroys the energy pillars and they are pre-occupied."

A sound plan. And if the guards weren't Jedi, it would have a chance to work.

"Oh come on, don't make that kind of face, darling!"

Arkee hopped onto the narrow walk and danced across it to the execution platform. Of course she couldn't actually _see_ Ahsoka's face, but she was well capable of feeling her pupil's feelings in the force.

"We're in the heart of the republic's death machinery and about to rescue a friend of yours, which means we'll become enemies with some very important people."

"Shouldn't I be making this face, then?"

"Yes, but isn't this exciting?"

"You know", Ahsoka answered with a grin, "the last time you used that word, I was tied to a table and you – "

She fell silent and blushed.

"Yes?", Crystal's eager voice came through the com unit, "She what?"

"Oh, I – ", Arkee started, obviously amused.

"Arkee!"

"Tell me", Crystal begged, "please tell me."

"Don't you dare!"

"I'll give you all the vivid details once we're back", the devious Anzat teased, "and I'll make her listen to every word."

"I – I'll be looking forward to it."

"There's nothing to look forward to!", Ahsoka protested, but Arkee only chuckled.

* * *

"Alright, they are only moments away from entering."

On Crystal's notice, Ahsoka picked up the axe they had found and stood up while Arkee leaped onto the ledge above the entrance.

"Good luck", the obviously nervous Chiss said, then it grew silent – silent as a grave.

For an eternity, the loudest thing in the room was the young Togruta's heart, then Ahsoka twitched when a loud boom announced their 'target', as Zor had titled Barriss, was about to step into the room. Her heart was thundering as if it wanted to be louder than the doors at all cost, and her breath was quick and shallow.

 _I'm not going to kill Barriss_ , she repeated silently to herself, _I'm not going to kill her! I'm not!_

She very nearly cried out when she saw the young green female's walking across the narrow walk with a hung head. She seemed very sad and lonely, and Ahsoka had to fight a sudden urge to drop the masquerade, run onto the walk and embrace her friend.

What did it matter that Barriss had betrayed her trust? She wanted to embrace her. Maybe Barriss would attack her if she did, perhaps try to throw her into the abyss, but she would worry about that after she had hugged her.

Still, she forced herself to remain perfectly still, even when Barriss knelt down in front of her and was chained to the softly humming energy pillars.

And she didn't move either when the guard that had brought the female to the platform returned to join the other guards in aiming their blasters at the both of them.

An oversized holo of the chancellor appeared on the wall behind her.

"Barriss Offee", he said with a clear and solemn voice, "You have been found a traitor to both, the Jedi and the Republic and stand sentenced to death. You have murdered innocents and endangered many more when ..."

The young Mirialan didn't much seem to care for his words. Instead, she tilted her head up, and softly moved her head, as if rubbing herself against the gentle sunlight that danced through her dark hair and caressed her cheek. Tears started to stream out of her closed eyes and rolled over her chin, but Ahsoka felt it wasn't due to anything the chancellor was saying.

"… and though I personally find it hard to believe any individual capable of such barbaric acts to hold on to any sacred beliefs, I pray whatever gods you may believe in have mercy on your soul. If you have any last words, we will hear them now."

A small microphone droid flew down from the ceiling and hovered in front of Barriss who still hadn't re-opened her eyes and completely ignored it.

After a while, the droid flew back up into the ceiling.

"Very well … executioner, you may now do your job."

 _I'm not killing Barriss!_

Ahsoka turned on the vibro-ax and it sprung to life with a sinister hum that tore through the silence.

"You ready, Arkee?", she asked through her helmet's com unit.

"Got them right where I want them. Go ahead, darling."

 _I'm not killing Barriss!_

She slowly, hesitantly raised the oversized weapon over her head.

 _The pillar! Just the energy pillar! I'm not killing her!_

Barriss opened her eyes in surprise.

"Ahsoka?", she whispered, then smiled.

The young Togruta's heart skipped a beat. Barris was smiling the brightest smile Ahsoka had ever seen on her face. She had heard her whisper this before, she had seen the beautiful smile a hundred times in her dreams … her nightmares. She froze.

No, she couldn't let her fear control her. She needed to break it.

 _I am Ahsoka Tano_ , a cold voice echoed through her head, _I am my teacher's lover. And my lover has taught me to shape the future._

"Darling?"

 _I am Ahsoka Tano_ , she repeated to herself, _I command the force, it will obey me!_

And with that, she swung the heavy vibro-ax down. Her fear was gone, replaced by a calm feeling of supremacy. There was no way the axe could possibly hit Barriss now, she forbade it.

"Arkee, now!"

She let go of the axe and let it fly. And while it crashed into the energy pillar to the left of Barriss, she ignited her sabres and slashed through the energy pillar to the right of her green friend.

"Duck!", she screamed, turning on her helmet's speakers, then whirled around the kneeling female and deflected a volley of blaster shots.

She looked at the guards who had shot.

Three of them were already pierced by silver blades, and the confused other two died an instant later, decapitated by Arkee's three lightsabres.

Wait, _three_ sabres?

Ahsoka gawked at Arkee. Her teacher was only holding a single sabre, the other two were floating beside her.

The sabres turned off simultaneously and she put the one she was holding onto her belt while the other two levitated into holsters on the underside of her arms.

"You didn't teach me _that_ yet", Ahsoka complained.

"I will", her teacher promised, "Now please tell me we didn't just become the most wanted people on Coruscant for nothing."

Ahsoka whirled around and looked at the still kneeling green woman. Barriss was unhurt. Confused, but alive.

Relieved, the young Togruta sank down and hugged her.

Tears were streaming down her face and were swallowed by her helmet.

"You live", she said, "Oh Barriss, you live!"

"A-Ahsoka? Are you … is that really you?!"

The orange teen sobbed while she laughed beneath her helmet.

"It is", she said and pressed her green friend close to her chest, "I'm so happy to hear your voice."

"I – I don't understand … you … I ..."

Barriss pushed Ahsoka away and prostrated herself before her.

"I'm so sorry!", she exclaimed, so very, very sorry!"

She too was crying.

"I don't deserve this. I- Aaah!"

Barriss screamed in pain.

Arkee had walked across the narrow path and kicked the grovelling green female hard into her sides.

"No, you don't", she said, "but it seems that despite your betrayal, some bounds aren't so easily severed. Now get up! We're dead if we don't get out of here quickly. You'll have enough time to apologise if we survive this."

"Arkee!", Ahsoka exclaimed, "That wasn't necessary!"

"No, but she deserved it. Your nightmares would have ended a long time ago if she had just used the damn sabre I gave her … and that she still has with her."

"Y-you?!", Barris asked, "But ..."

"Didn't you hear me? I said get ... up!"

With a wave of her hand, Arkee force-pulled the both of them up from the ground and onto their feet.

"Crystal?`We have her. We need to get out fast. Tell me you're ready."

"Run across the landing platform and drop down. It's a three mile drop, but Samantha, Puyrr and Kan'a'ar are ready to catch you. They will drop with you and pull you into their gliders."

"How many clones?"

There was an awkward silence.

"Crystal?", Arkee asked again, "How many clones?"

"N-none?"

"What do you mean, 'none'?"

"There … there are no clones on the landing platform. It's completely deserted."

Ahsoka and Arkee looked at each other.

"That can't be", Ahsoka offered, "We saw an entire army on our way in, they can't be gone."

"Plus the entire facility must be on high alert by now."

Their blue friend sounded a lot more nervous when she replied.

"A – all the equipment Num has placed seems to be working … I can't explain it. Something must have called them away."

Arkee cursed.

"But … but that's good for us, right?", Ahsoka asked.

"No, darling, something like this is never good."

She pondered for a moment as they walked towards the first heavy door between them and the outside world.

"What about orbit? Any ships aiming at the landing platform?"

It took a moment for Crystal to reply.

"There are several military vessels, but they just seem to be patrolling… wait, there is somebody on the landing platform."

"Somebody?"

"We can't see much as we had to place the equipment pretty far away, but there's definitely a person on the platform, walking towards you. Hooded, by the looks of it. There's no sign of anybody else… wait, he's stopped. He seems to be waiting for you."

There was a long and uncomfortable silence.

"Well", Arkee eventually said, "We don't have a choice. Let's meet the mysterious guy."

She took her sabre from her belt and ignited it.

But to all their surprise, the door in front of them just slid open before they even started to cut through the heavy durasteel.

With no choice but to move through it, the three of them walked into the small chambre in-between the doors and waited.

Obediently, the door behind them closed and immediately after, the door in front of them slid open, as if they were invited to leave.

Carefully, they stepped outside.

There was indeed somebody standing in the middle of the otherwise empty platform and they slowly approached him.

"A beautiful day, isn't it?", the stranger greeted them, "You should remove your helmet, Miss Tano, and let your skin enjoy the sun.

Ahsoka didn't move.

"Who are you?!"

"Please?", the strange man ignored her questions, "It's rude, having to talk to a bucket."

The stranger pulled back the hood of his Jedi-like robes and revealed his face. There was nothing particular about him. Just a young man, perhaps as old as Anakin had been, with short dark hair and eyes that looked and felt like ice.

"You too, my lady. Let's be civilised."

Arkee pulled off her own helmet and the black headband she was wearing beneath it and threw them aside.

"Ah", she sighed and shook her head, sending her hair flying, "Much better. Go ahead, darling. No point in remaining in that stupid thing when he already knows us."

Hesitantly, Ahsoka removed both, the hood and the helmet beneath it. Her teacher was right, this felt much better.

"Thank you", the stranger continued, "I am Rick Demyrr, Jedi of the Order. Please call me Rick."

He bowed mockingly.

"And what do you want, _Rick_?", Arkee asked, carefully surveying their surroundings.

"Your weapons and your surrender."

He looked past Arkee and straight at Ahsoka.

"Please, Miss Tano, don't make this any more complicated. Lay down your weapons and come with me calmly.

Arkee flung two of her sabres into the air and took the third from her belt.

She ignited them and pointed all three at Demyrr.

Behind her, both Ahsoka and Barriss ignited their own weapons.

"And just what do you intend to do with her?"

"Miss Tano and you will be jailed and questioned. Eventually, a court will find you guilty of terrorism and you will be executed", the strange Jedi answered without any emotions, "Miss Offee, on the other hand, will stay and die right here. She's served her purpose in flushing out Miss Tano."

"Why the interest in me?", Ahsoka demanded, "I left the order."

"I don't question the members of the Council, Miss Tano. I receive my orders, I obey."

"A Shadow", Arkee stated, "Be careful, we're surrounded!"

"I – I neither see nor feel anybody?", Ahsoka nervously looked around.

"Nor will you, at least not before they attack. They use the force to bend the light around themselves and hide their presence in the ripples left by our emotions."

For a brief moment, something akin to shock flickered over Demyrr's face, then he regained his composure.

"You seem to know a lot about something you should know nothing about", he said threateningly, reached into his robes and produced a long metallic hilt.

"Miss Tano, I've been asked to give you a chance to surrender and I have, but my patience has limits. Please lay down your weapons and surrender."

"Funnily enough, it's _Mrs._ Tano, actually", Ahsoka said as she gripped her sabres more tightly and dropped into a defensive crouch, "And I'd rather shove that long lightsabre of yours up your ass."

Arkee grinned but Demyrr didn't seem to care about the insult at all.

"That's very … disappointing, _Missus_ Tano."

The strange Jedi had felt rather neutral in the force up to then, but now, the force screamed bloody murder when he ignited his sabre and purple blades shot out on both sides of the long hilt he was holding.

For a moment, they just stood there and stared at each other. Nobody moved, nobody said anything, and the only sound was the low death-promising hum of their sabres.

Just when Ahsoka asked herself whether this silly stand-off was Demyrr's idea of a display of force, it all happened at once.

Demyrr charged at Arkee with full speed. The prospect of having to fight not only her three sabres but also Ahsoka's and Barriss' seemed not to worry him at all.

Even more surprising, Arkee did not engage him directly but instead used her two hovering sabres to deflect his while she whirled around and extended a hand towards Ahsoka.

The young Togruta had just enough time to notice the burning gold that had replaced the gentle grey of her lover's eyes, then lightning shot towards her.

Caught completely by surprise, she had no chance to react.

She noticed a sabre lying to her feet, the very same kind Rick Demyrr was slashing at Arkee with.

The lightning had whizzed past her and hit the assassin who had been about to impale her with it. And while the hooded Jedi's lifeless body was still falling, another burst of lightning shot past the confused Barriss and killed another.

"Don't try to feel them in the force, you can't!", her teacher screamed as she dodged another blow of Demyrr's purple sabre, "Feel their intentions! They must first _want_ to attack you before they actually can; their feelings will betray them."

Ahsoka leapt back. A purple blade cut through the air where she had been standing and an instant later, another hooded Jedi appeared out of nothing. He looked at Ahsoka and silently disappeared as quickly as he had come. She didn't have time to marvel at the technique, however, for already, she could feel two more blades shoot towards her.

"How do you fight these things?!", Barriss exclaimed as she herself parried a blow and dodged another but found her own sabre cut nothing but air.

"Stay alive and kill them quickly when you get the chance", Arkee shouted back.

Out of all the Jedi that were trying to kill them – however many that might have been – Demyrr was the only one who didn't bother to disappear. His technique seemed almost crude when contrasted with the elegant swordplay that came from Arkee's many years of training, but he was relentless and kept the white Anzat well occupied while at least two others kept attacking her from behind.

"You make it sound so easy", Ahsoka complained as she blocked a purple blow to her head then leapt over a lower swing.

Never had she been happier to have montrals for thanks to them, she seemed to be the one having the least trouble evading amongst the three of them.

She allowed herself to glance at Barriss and was glad to see that she too seemed to be able to avoid them. But for how long? They would eventually tire and who knew how many more of these … _shadows_ could be lying in wait for them?

"Rrrraaaah!"

A pained scream made her fully turn towards Barriss. Her green friend was just cleaving a Jedi in half who had dropped his sabre and was clutching his arm. Apparently, the young Mirialan had used the force to break it.

"Good thinking!"

Ahsoka dodged another blow. Without Barriss' knowledge of the human body, she couldn't break bones – at least not fast enough for it to be useful in a fight – but Arkee had given her another weapon.

She hung her left sabre back onto her belt and let the force stream through her arm. And when the next blade rushed towards her, she caught it with her right sabre and …

"Die!"

Pure power exploded from her fingertips and leapt at the source of the purple sabre in form of lightning. The undoubtedly surprised would-be assasin didn't have enough time to react and dropped dead an instant later.

"Excellent, darling!"

One of Arkee's sabre had been cut through. Its useless remains lay on the ground. With one sabre, she fought off Demyrr, the other was hovering behind her, protecting her back.

"Lightning, Missus Tano? No wonder you consort with Sith."

Demyrr's voice was loaded with disgust.

"The Masters were wise to command your elimination. You've really gone down the dark path, haven't you?"

"I'm not ... Sith!", Ahsoka shouted and let her still-golden eyes glare at him as she dodged another Jedi's attack.

"Aren't you? Or is that the lie you tell yourself to justify what you have become?"

He shook his head and unleashed a new barrage of blows at the defensive Anzat before him.

"The dark side _always_ corrupts its users. You may deny it in your head but the only one you're fooling is yourself. Surrender and die, already."

"Oooo", Arkee made, " _surrender and die_ , such a typical light-side thing to say, isn't it, assassin?"

Her foot finally found one of the shadows and she kicked him hard. He was still flying backwards when Arkee's second sabre stabbed him through the back and remained beneath the collapsed _Shadow_.

"You're murdering people on command, how does that make _you_ the good guy?"

"Don't speak to me, Sith-flith", Demyrr demanded, "Your very presence taints the galaxy. You and your _ilk_ are a cancer. It is our duty to remove you for the good of all."

"Jedi arrogance", Arkee hissed.

She and Demyrr exchanged a couple of quick blows

"You contemptible preachers always think you know what's good for everybody. Well, here's a secret, you don't."

She quite suddenly discharged lightning at Demyrr who managed to bring his sword up just in time to deflect it, but Arkee used the time he needed to kick him hard.

Before she could move in for the kill, though, two more Jedi stopped hiding and directly engaged her.

A Jedi appeared in front of Ahsoka and another behind her. Barriss too was surrounded in a similar fashion.

"Growing impatient?", she teased, but she was nervous.

Their invisibility that had made the Shadows so hard to fight had also prevented them from fully cooperating with each other. Now that they could see and feel their partners, the Shadows' attacks grew more direct and aggressive, and were chained into full patterns. She didn't know how long they could last against them like this.

"We must leave!", Arkee shouted as she dove below a strike to her neck. Demyrr was back on his feet and joined the other two Jedi attacking her.

"No shit!", Ahsoka shouted back.

She leaped over one sabre and kicked its owner in the face. That's all she could do before she had to evade the second Jedi that engaged her.

"If only they would let us."

They kept moving closer to each other until eventually, the three females were fighting back to back. It grew easier to defend like that, but they were still outnumbered and without a chance to attack. Soon, they would quite simply tire out and die.

"Darling, I want to dance!"

"Are you crazy?!", Ahsoka shouted as she parried a sabre to each of her sides, "This isn't any time to … oh!"

 _Of course!_

"What about Barriss?"

"I'll take her. I just need a moment to grab her."

"On three?"

"Three!", Arkee shouted.

The two of them turned off their sabres and hung them on their belt as they dropped below their attackers' sabres and concentrated.

Using both hands they force-pushed the Shadows around them back and although each of them flipped midair and landed on his feet, that gave them the valuable moment they needed.

Ahsoka pushed off the ground and leapt, then carefully stabilised herself in the air.

Arkee didn't take quite as long. She ran to Barriss, grabbed the confused green female and was with Ahsoka in two jumps.

"Let's go!"

They ran. They ran through the air, over the heads of the surprised Shadows, towards the ledge from which they were supposed to jump. Just a moment before they could make that jump, though, Arkee suddenly dropped Barriss.

Ahsoka stopped and looked at her the white Anzat.

"What are you ..."

Her eyes grew wide in shock when she saw a purple blade protrude from her lover's belly, just above her navel. One of the Shadows must have thrown his double-sided sword and the humming javelin had impaled the beautiful woman from behind.

"No."

She had whispered it, for she lacked the strength to scream. This was impossible. Her teacher was always quick, always nimble … she couldn't have been hit like this.

The corners of her lover's mouth twitched into a brief smile, then she dropped.

"No!"

Ahsoka dove and caught the falling Anzat before she hit the ground. And as she laid the ancient Anzat onto the floor, she knelt down beside her.

"Arkee! Talk to me!"

She hugged the weak pale body.

"Talk to me! What … what can we do? How-"

"Kiss me", Arkee wheezed.

"What?!"

Her weak lover coughed.

"If you have time to panic ... you have time to kiss me", she mumbled, "so kiss me."

Tears were streaming down Ahsoka's cheek as she leaned down and kissed the quivering pale lips.

"I don't want this", she whimpered, "We came here to save a life, not trade it."

Arkee gasped, then forced herself to smile.

"Shhh, it's alright", she whispered, "I love you."

She gasped again.

"Zih'Ahri a Ki-Marad", she managed, then she stopped talking.

"Arkee?"

There were no words that could have adequately described the deep feeling of sorrow the young Togruta felt. During her time as a Jedi, she had been forced to detach herself from all people. She had secretly made exceptions for her master and for Barriss, but they were still alive. This horrible feeling of loss, as if her soul was torn apart, it was new to her … and it filled her heart with cruel coldness.

She stood up and glared at the Shadows who had patiently waited for her. Brave Barriss had placed herself in-between them and Ahsoka, but nobody could truly believe she was capable of keeping them back by herself if they chose to attack.

"Barriss?", she mumbled.

"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka, I -"

"Take her."

"What?"

"I said take her!", Ahsoka snapped, "We're not leaving her here for the republican vultures! Take her and jump off the ledge!"

Surprised by the sudden outbreak, her friend obeyed, crouched down and picked up the limp white body.

"Now what makes you think we'll just let you walk away?", Demyrr asked.

Ahsoka ignored him.

"Whatever happens, Barriss", she instead continued, "I want you to know I have always loved you."

"Ahsoka ..."

"This isn't how I imagined our reunion. I don't know why you betrayed me. Nor does it matter right now. Just promise me ... promise me you won't let me hurt you."

"Hurt me? Ahsoka, what are you ..."

"I'm going to kill them. I will slaughter – every – single – one – of them. I will make them bleed. I will make them hurt, then I will jump off the ledge and join you."

"Ahsoka, you can't – "

"Promise me!", she interrupted her frightened green friend.

"I … I promise I won't let you hurt me… but I _can't_ let you _do_ this."

"You won't stop me. They will pay."

"Come to your senses! We could barely keep our ground when we were three, what can you hope to accomplish alone?"

"If it's any consolation", Demyrr offered in a cold voice, "I won't let her either. She'll die right here with that Sith master of hers, as will you."

The Shadows had used the time they had been talking to surround them again. Seven Jedi with six double-sided sabres, the seventh was still lying to her feet.

"Tell me ... _Rick_ ", Ahsoka demanded as she kicked the seventh sabre to its owner, "Why have you not killed us while we were talking?"

"Because as Jedi, we are required to show compassion. And we like hearing our targets' plans when they so readily reveal them. Though I must say, yours sucks."

"Compassion?! There's nothing compassionate about killing people! You're just sick and cruel and wanted me to fully feel the sorrow!"

She smirked … no, actually _grimaced_ is a better word for it. A cold, dangerous expression, loaded with contempt and arrogance.  
"I felt it. I feel it burning still. You'll yet wish you had killed me when you could."  
Her eyes that had first returned to their original blue during their conversations were now glowing in a bright gold again and she could feel the force protest against her presence.

"Go, Barriss", she said, "I'll join you as soon as I showed them their place."

Ahsoka unleashed a wave of pure hatred and the malice bit deep into the Jedi's consciousnesses and made them scream in pain. Several dropped to their knees.

"Go!", she shouted again.

"I..."

Running out of patience, Ahsoka grabbed Barriss and Arkee in the force and lifted them off the ground.

"Don't do this, Ahsoka!"

She threw the both of them over the ledge and they disappeared out of sight in an instant.

Her hands went for her sabres and she unleashed another hatred attack.

"You can feel that, can't you? Does it hurt? Does it?

Her next attack cut through the Shadows, many of which now dropped their sabres and fell over, frantically clutching their heads in pain. The attack had been sudden, unexpected, and they hadn't been prepared to put up any defences. She had actually observed how Arkee did her mind tricks, though she never would have expected to use the technique like this.

"Oh, I hope it does. I want you to hurt. I want you to scream. And eventually ..."

She ignited her sabres and the cold silver blades began to softly sing of death.

"… I want you to die!"

Again, she propelled pure malice out of herself, then charged and started butchering the Jedi assassins with many more slashes than would have been necessary.

And they were dying! Dying! Dying!

She laughed. It felt good to sink her sabres into them, but it was very unsatisfying to give them so clean a death.

She turned her sabres off and put them on her belt. Then she grasped the nearest Jedi's neck in the force, crushed his windpipe and watched him slowly suffocate.

There were only three Shadows left, now. Rick Demyrr, the Jedi who had thrown his sabre and another. They had finally managed to overcome Ahsoka's sudden hate attack and staggered back to their feet.

"You are a force to be reckoned, Missus Tano", Demyrr said. The deaths of so many of his comrades so quickly in succession didn't seem to bother him at all.

"We were right about you, after all. Can't you see what you've become?!"

Ahsoka raised both hands towards him and unleashed a massive torrent of lightning.

Demyrr saw it coming and could dodge, the weakened Jedi behind him wasn't so lucky and took the deadly bolts head-on. It projected him across half the landing platform. He didn't stand back up.

"I am what I need to be", Ahsoka growled, "To hurt you. To destroy you."

She pointed at Demyrr's last remaining partner.

"You in particular will pay for what you've done", she promised.

"Revenge is not a Jedi way", Demyrr stated calmly.

"Suits me. I am not a Jedi."

"Then you are Sith."

The young Togruta drew her sabres again and ignited them.

"No, I am _more_."

She charged at him. Demyrr was a formidable opponent, but he was a Jedi. Ahsoka's anger made her quicker, stronger, more relentless, and her hatred gave her focus. Demyrr was tired, as she should have been, but her desire to kill him surpassed her bodily limitations. Dead! She wanted the both of them dead, dead, dead, dead, _DEAD!_

Demyrr's partner lunged at her. She sidestepped him and sent him flying with a kick, then turned her attention back to the annoying Jedi. She would take her time with Arkee's killer, she would savour his pain. He would beg her to kill him and she would deny it to him.

Ahsoka grinned. Oh yes, she had plenty of ideas what to do with _him_ , but first, this petty distraction had to be dealt with.

Finally, she landed a blow, and it took off Demyrr's arm. And while he was still staring at his dropping limb, she circled around him and cut open his back, pirouetted and chopped him cleanly in half.

Dead! The annoyance was dead! Dead! Dead!

She laughed, then glared at the last remaining Shadow.

"Your turn."

She slowly walked towards her last victim.

Even after having witnessed the deaths of so many of his comrades he stood his ground as if nothing was amiss, but Ahsoka could feel his anxiety …

"What's the matter, little Jedi?", she asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

He remained silent, but he _was_ afraid of her, she could taste it. He was young still, younger than the others she had already killed, and less experienced.

"You should be, you know? You should be very, very afraid."

"T-there are no emotions, there is peace."

And with that he attacked her.

"Oh really?"

He was nowhere near either Arkee's or Demyrr's level of swordsmanship. She toyed with him for a while, then took off both his arms and pushed him to the ground.

"How about now?", she asked, "Are you afraid of me?"

"You can't … frighten me, Sith!"

She pierced his leg and he screamed again.

"We'll see", she said coldly, "I can make you scream, at least."

"Do … do your worst."

"Oh, I intend to."

Ahsoka started pushing against her victim's consciousness.

"The woman you hurt today", she said, "I liked being around her. She was very gentle and a lot of fun, and my heart leapt whenever she touched me."

She pierced his leg again.

"And you hurt her."

She rammed her will harder against the young Jedi's defences. He _was_ going to break, she commanded it.

Finally, her victim started groaning.

"What are you doing?! You know you won't be able to mind trick me!"

Satisfied that her efforts were showing fruits, she further increased the force of her mental attacks.

"I will make you feel pain, lots and lots of pain. You better get used to it"

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed the clones were returning. Somebody must have been watching their fight and decided that with the Jedi dead, the clones should try their luck. But that was alright, she just needed one last push. He was already starting to cave in, she could feel it.

"Beg! Beg for mercy!", she screamed, "and I promise you a swift death."

"Go … go fuck yourself."

She punched him in the face, and as she did, she felt more break than just his nose, she felt herself rip into his consciousness and she tore her way through it before she quickly retreated.

The young Jedi was screaming, now. Turning and twisting like she had seen that clone, Kage, scream and twist… just without arms. But this time, she didn't feel any pity. This one _deserved_ it.

Ahsoka hung her sabres on her belt and ran to the ledge she should have dropped from a long time ago and before any clone could shoot her, she was already plummeting.

She closed her eyes and let gravity carry her down through the howling wind.

Tears were now flowing freely, falling up, instead of down, as she herself was falling lower and lower.

"You are avenged. Zih'Ahri a Ki-Marad."

* * *

Author's Note:

After that break last chapter, I plunge her right back into the depths of desparation ... I'm a bastard, aren't I? Well, I still hope you enjoyed the chapter.

The chapter is a bit light on erotic content. That's intentional because I wanted the focus of this chapter to lie on the Execution of Barriss. Don't worry, I promise we'll get some more wonderfully naughty scenes in the next chapters.  
To make up for the lack of naughtiness in _this_ chapter, I have recently uploaded a very mature short story, "Padawan Relaxation". If you haven't yet checked it out, give it a try (you can find it in my profile).

Also, we now have a picture of Crystal drawn by DeviantArt's "raikoart" (aka "Sean"):

raikoart . deviantart [dotcom]/art/Sketch-Commission-Crystal-603500827

For those of you who missed it, I also had DA's "raikoh-illust" (different artist) sketch Arkee:

raikoh-illust . deviantart [dotcom]/art/Silva-Woman-593524410

If you haven't seen these before, I definitely recommend you check them out. =)

(I apologise for the weird url format, but if I don't enter them like this, FF deletes them.)


	6. Ch6 - A Storm of Emotions

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.6: A Storm of Emotions**

Palpatine gazed at the dead Jedi in the morgue with an affection akin to fatherly love. He was happy, he was very, very happy.

A dozen dead Jedi. That alone was a fortunate event. But now, they were _his_ dozen dead Jedi. He had made sure the corpses would be declared a military secret, that effectively put them out of the Jedi Order's reach and at the same time allowed him to credibly lament to them that he could do nothing about it. The military justice was independent and did not answer to the chancellor – officially.

He gently caressed one female Mirialan Jedi's cheek.

Funny, that. He had expected to end up with a different Mirialan female's corpse.

Eleven bodies. Five female, six male, and of various species. He couldn't have hoped for any better.

True, there was one more Jedi in the med centre, cared for by both, doctors and Jedi healers alike, but that one had gone mad and the people caring for him were losing hope he would ever recover. That was just as good as dead. Anyway, he didn't matter.

These eleven, on the other hand, they should finally create the breakthrough he had been waiting for. His earlier experiments had been a failure – he had known that for a while and the fact all five of them were so easily killed by that pale woman only confirmed it.

The pale woman …

"Take them", he hissed at the scientists that had stood at ready while he was inspecting the corpses, "These are excellent specimen. They were strong in the force and should provide you all the information you need."

He turned to the taskmaster.

"I expect satisfying results", he stated, "Results you will be well-rewarded for. I trust you will not disappoint me."

The scientist hastily bowed, but he couldn't hide his fear at the implicit threat.

"Of course, my lord."

He and the other scientists started moving the bodies.

Yes, the pale woman...

There were two thorns in Lord Sidious' side.

One was the existence of these … _Shadows_ , as the pale woman had called them.

When Barriss Offee had been sentenced to death, he was surprised to have this Jedi _Rick Demyrr_ step forward and explain to him that they expected Ahsoka Tano, who had been a friend to Offee, to try and do something to prevent her execution.

And he _asked_ for the Chancellor's cooperation if that should indeed turn out to be the case, although _demanded_ would be a more appropriate word.

Palpatine had agreed – as if he had had a choice – but what he had seen both surprised and upset him.

An elite anti-Sith strike team…

If what that pale woman had said was true – and by the look Demyrr gave in response to her explanation, it was – the fact that they hid their presences in the _'ripples left by our emotions'_ created a problem.

It was a powerful technique, even against lesser beings, but the Dark Side _was_ emotions. As a lord of the Sith, he fed on the feelings of those around him and on his own and relied on them to channel the force or he manipulated them to render the people he was talking to more … _susceptible_ to his 'suggestions'. It would make sense for anti-Sith assassins to be aware of this and use it to their advantage but the fact they could thus completely hide from him, he didn't like that at all. He would need to be even more careful, from now on, at least until the Jedi were finally dealt with.

The other thorn, however, was that pale woman herself.

He knew absolutely nothing about her.

Skywalker's wayward ex-padawan had displayed a rather impressive control over forces that were too powerful, too dark to originate from any teachings the young Togruta could possibly have received from a Jedi. Undoubtedly, that woman was the source of Tano's surprising strength or at least had a significant part to play. And that meant there was another Sith on Coruscant, one who was either completely uninterested in politics and power or – and that was much more likely and upsetting – who had managed to evade him during all these years.

The Dark Lord gritted his teeth.

That was unacceptable. _If_ anybody was corrupting padawans and bending them to his will, it was heand he alone!

And yet … was she truly Sith?

He had watched the security recordings over and over again, to the point the information about the strange woman had become an obsession to him. _She_ had become an obsession to him. And there was something odd about the way she had been impaled.

It was simply unthinkable that somebody displaying her power in the force would not feel a deadly javelin rushing towards her, even when the assassin had masked its presence. And indeed, the pale woman had let go of Offee well before she was hit to avoid _her_ being injured.

That meant she had _chosen_ to be hit in order to save Offee. An unexpected turn of events. Not only to him, but he had seen the young assassin's surprise as well. He must have intended to at least prevent Offee from escaping.

Lord Sidious was no fool, he knew that targeting innocents was a convenient way to get the stupid Jedi to willingly leap into the sights, but self-sacrifice was not of the Dark Side. There was no point in losing your life for somebody else. If they died, that simply meant they were weak and thus unworthy to begin with. Had she truly been Sith, she would have evaded and let the sabre hit Offee.

 _Unless_ she in turn had a master who had – for whatever reason – an interest in Offee and instructed her to prioritise _her_ life over her own.

That was assuming she _was_ Sith at all.

And if she wasn't Sith, then what _was_ she? And why the interest in Offee?

Obviously, she wasn't a Jedi. And she was too skilled to be an amateur who happened to discover she had some skills and dabbled with powers she didn't understand. No, this one was a master in the ways of the force and dangerous.

A dark anger rippled into Lord Sidious' consciousness.

Too many questions and no satisfying answers.

The pale woman was wounded, though if she was dead, he could not say. He would need to find her and make sure she was, then learn whatever he could. Coruscant was _his_ – as the Republic would be in time – and he would tolerate no challenge to his power. But he needed to be subtle. The Jedi were agitated by their recent loss. They were more vigilant, now, and soon they would start their own investigations. As a naive Chancellor ignorant to everything about the force, he could not risk showing too great a personal interest in the woman.

Brooding, the Chancellor left the morgue. There were plans to set into motion. He couldn't stay here and diddle around.

* * *

Darkness.

Ahsoka closed her eyes. She didn't see any less than before, but it _was_ easier on her burning eyes.

There was something comforting about the absence of light, being unable to see.

Darkness swallowed everything, melted it down. It didn't matter what was there and what wasn't for when you opened your eyes, you wouldn't see it either way.

The image of her Anzati lover flashed in front of her. Her long pale golden hair fell freely and her beautifully silver eyes glittered with the radiance of a thousand diamonds. As would often be the case, her mouth was twisted into a mischievous grin that made her wonder with both worry and anticipation about just what her teacher was going to do to her.

Tears continued streaming down her orange cheeks; they had never stopped.

 _But you're not there, are you?_

"Rrrrrrraaaah!"

Unable to contain herself any longer, the pained Togruti teen screamed out her rage. Angry lightning illuminated the large basement she had locked herself in and bathed everything in an eerie blue. An instant later, the bolts crashed into the walls and everything turned dark again.

She didn't know how much time she had spent meditating like this – if it could be called that – hovering in the darkness and trying to get rid of her pain, but it wasn't working. The relief she had felt when she had tried her hand at lightning for the very first time was denied to her. No matter how much lightning she discharged, the hole in her chest remained there. Her heart was drowning in an endless stream of pain and hate and anger. But what really got to her, was the sorrow.

 _Shhh, it's alright. I love you._

Lightning sprung from her arms. Quick and deadly bolts of power whizzed everywhere. She concentrated their power into her fingertips and discharged them with a long howl.

Again, doom crashed into the walls. Had they not been shielded for exactly this purpose, they probably would have collapsed a long time ago. Instead, darkness engulfed everything again and suffocated it in a gentle blanket of oblivion.

 _Why?! Why her?! Why now?!_

The many target dummies that had been propped against the wall had long been destroyed and the floor was littered with their debris. This was unsatisfying. She needed to destroy something. But with nothing else to take her rage, she fired at the walls again.

 _I'll kill them! I'll kill them! I'll kill them! I'll kill them! I'll kill them! I –_

"Die!"

Her throat was hurting from all the screaming and she no longer recognised her own voice, but that didn't stop her. Quite on the contrary, the subtle physical pain that mixed into the pain she was already feeling in her chest only enraged her further.

She growled. A low, soft, dangerous growl. Her emotions were running wild but she forged their raw energy into a single purpose: destruction.

Yes, she knew she had already killed them, but that wasn't enough. _They_ had merely been doing their job. She wanted to see the ones that had giving the order bleed.

Master Yoda, perhaps?

Lightning sizzled up her arms and threatened to sear her flesh. She ignored it.

No, not him. For all her new-found disgust in his teachings, Yoda was too much of a preacher to have the guts to kill her.

Windu, perhaps?

An image of the black Jedi flashed in front of her.

Yes, he had never trusted her to begin with – or Anakin, for that matter – it would make sense for him to be afraid of her. Plus the assassins were carrying purple sabres … purple like their master's?

Or perhaps she should ignore the most obvious candidates and consider somebody else entirely?

The crazed Togruta thought about the other council members. Koon, Tiin, Koth … one by one their images flashed in front of her, and she commented each with a burst of lightning.

She smiled – a horrible, deranged smile.

Yes, that was the best course of action. Kill them all and all their assassins and all their pupils and … oh, who cared, she would just wipe out the damn Jedi Order. They all were guilty, one way or another, weren't they? And that way, she would be sure everybody remotely responsible paid for his crimes.

Her mad smile widened into a grimace of pure hatred.

"Kill them all", she whispered into the darkness.

The threat lingered in the air for a moment and she revelled in her own dark fantasies.

She would crush them, rip skin and flesh off their broken bones and savour their pain as they slowly went mad. And when they begged her, prayed to her for the sweet relief of death, _then_ – and only then – would she allow them to die, a slow and horrible death, as was suitable for the scum.

The force around her exploded into a storm of lightning. She bathed in it, let the deadly bolts crawl around her only millimetres over her skin, then softly – almost affectionately – gave them a purpose and sent them flying. They thundered into the walls with a terrible crash … the sweet sound of breaking Jedi bones, she imagined.

Then everything disappeared into the soothing void of darkness, again.

 _Now … whom to start with?_

The air around her crackled.

 _The annoying little green preaching ball with the horrible grammar?_

 _The mistrusting black ark-droppings with the purple sabre?_

 _The senile –_

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a red flashing light that informed her the door was being opened and indeed, moments later a shy shadow hurried in.

 _Crystal._

"I thought I said I wanted to be alone."

Ahsoka glared at the blue annoyance that had brought light into the dark room she was hovering in. Her eyes were cold, furious, burning with a bright-golden fury.

"Get out!"

"You ... you've been alone. For days!"

Crystal felt nervous. It's to be expected, she would be too, but Ahsoka's voice grew softer when she saw the worry in her friend's pupil-less red eyes.

"Are you afraid of me?"

The young Chiss shook her head.

"I'm afraid _for_ you! You were unconscious when they pulled you out of the air. When you came to, you wordlessly went to the bathroom. You showered for so long we feared you had drowned yourself, but when I was sent to look for you, you just sat there in the streaming cold water."

Crystal gave her a meaningful look.

"I _talked_ to you … you didn't hear me. Instead, you changed your clothes, then you … _demanded_ dad locked you in here. I watched you on the security cams. You haven't even tried to break out. You don't eat, you don't drink, you don't talk to anybody, you don't even sleep! You just hover there and … I don't know, _meditate_!It's not healthy! And all that scary lightning ..."

"Meditation slows my metabolism and the force gives me everything my body needs", Ahsoka answered dismissively. That wasn't _entirely_ true, but it would hopefully stop Crystal from making a fuss over it; she wasn't in the mood for that kind of discussion.

"Is Barriss alright? Where is she?"

"She is meditating and working hard ... don't change the subject!"

Ahsoka looked at the young Chiss and her golden gaze mustered the blue female. Her friend felt honestly worried.

" _I_ am afraid, Crystal. I've never felt like this. I don't fully understand what's happening to me and I don't want to hurt either of you."

Although Crystal felt very nervous in the force, her outward appearance was confident, controlled, more so than she would have expected from her.

"You won't hurt me", she said with a firm voice.

"Won't I? I never thought I'd butcher Jedi like that, but I did, and I would again. Actually … I even think I _will_ again. You've watched the massacre on screen, haven't you? You know well what I am capable of."

"You won't hurt me", Crystal repeated stubbornly, "We're friends, aren't we?"

Ahsoka forced her mouth into a sour smile.

"Barriss was my friend when she betrayed me."

"Then it's a good thing neither of us is her."

Crystal walked deeper into the dark room and the door closed behind her, turning off the flashing red light.

Darkness swallowed the both of them and they were blind … or Crystal was blind. The force told Ahsoka the young Chiss was still moving straight towards her and extended her arms.

"Please … come here", she said, stopping two steps in front of her and looking up. The Chiss couldn't see anything, but she was looking straight at Ahsoka.

"I can hear your pained screams even from outside. And it's breaking my heart!"

Hesitantly, Ahsoka levitated down. After days almost constantly spent in suspension, the hard ground felt uncomfortable to stand on. Funny, she didn't usually levitate during meditation; that's something Barriss was fond of doing, not she.

For a moment, she just stood there. Neither of them moved and she could hear Crystal's gentle breath in the darkness. It was calm, steady … _unafraid._

It surprised her.

"You really do trust me, don't you? That's dangerous, you know?"

The young Chiss didn't say anything, she just stood there, her arms extended, waiting for her orange friend.

Ahsoka hesitated once more, then after an eternity, she stepped closer and embraced her stupid blue friend.

Crystal felt warm and soft and so very different from the cold, lifeless darkness she had surrounded herself with these past days and the gentle presence drove out all the anger and hate, even made her forget about her aching body. What remained was the sorrow and the different kind of pain it caused.

She snuggled herself into her blue friend and cried. And for a while, they remained thus. Careful warm hands caressed her back and they didn't stop when her tears eventually subsided.

They remained silent – except for the occasional sob – and Ahsoka pushed herself deeper into the soft blue female, immersing herself in the gentle warmth she radiated. It felt so good, especially after her despair, and she wanted to wrap herself into the feeling, just dissolve and merge into Crystal.

Something bumped against them - or they bumped against something, who could tell in this darkness? She ignored it, it didn't matter. All that mattered was her warm friend. Her soft, warm, gentle friend.

"Uhm ... Ahsoka?", Crystal mumbled softly, "Can I at least see you when we do this?"

 _Do what?_

"Hm? What are you ... give me a moment ... there."

The young Togruta concentrated shortly and used the force to flip a switch that turned on a couple of the dimmer lights. Nothing too bright, her eyes were already burning from her tears, just barely enough for them to see each other. She instantly froze.

Ahsoka must have pushed them all the way across the large basement for she was now pressing Crystal against a wall and – as she noticed with some shock – she was fondling her heavily blushing but otherwise docile blue friend.

She twitched back and detached herself from the female Chiss.

"I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to … I ..."

Crystal smiled.

"You don't need to apologise."

She averted her eyes and her blush grew brighter.

"I don't mind if you … continue."

Baffled, Ahsoka gawked at her friend who was nervously playing with her black hair and was shyly, expectantly, glancing at her.

"C-Crystal!", she exclaimed, feeling the blood rush to her head, "I … I like you but … I mean, w-we aren't ..."

"Of course we're not", Crystal agreed, "And I don't intend to take aunty's place. But ... you must be lonely and we're friends. Will you not allow me to … comfort you?"

" _Comfort_ me?"

Her friend nodded, pulled the straps of her dress over her shoulders and let the silky fabric drop to the ground.

"You seemed to enjoy my closeness and my body", she mumbled as she reached behind herself, "I'm offering you both."

Her purple bra unhooked, she let it too drop to the ground. Ahsoka didn't stop her. She couldn't. She only kept gawking at Crystal's unexpected actions and in time, her body. The Chiss' nipples were a deep blue, like her lips, and even though she felt guilty for staring at them, they quite fascinated the young Togruta.

In nothing but her panties and heavily blushing, Crystal leaned back against the wall and placed her hands on it, just above her head, as if they were pressed there, in a submissive but incredibly erotic pose.

She shyly looked at Ahsoka.

"Do with me as you please", she whispered softly.

Ahsoka could feel her heart hammer against her ribcage. This was wrong, this was _so_ wrong … but ...

The flustered Chiss smiled shyly.

"Just friends. No strings attached, no lovey-dovey sillinesses, just raw, pure _passion._ "

Crystal averted her eyes, obviously embarrassed by what she was saying and doing, but she didn't let her embarrassment stop her.

"I can take it, you know?", she mumbled, "You don't need to hold back."

Ahsoka looked again at the rock-hard blue nipples in front of her.

 _Are you kidding me?!_

And yet … Crystal was displaying an incredibly sexy mix of being brisk and submissive at the same time and Ahsoka _had_ entertained a couple of fantasies about the young Chiss – fantasies Arkee had both kindled and worked hard to keep alive, finding pleasure in making her think of the many things she could do to 'the innocent blue girl' and then teasing her about them.

Well, turned out the blue girl wasn't so innocent, after all...

The young Chiss' breath quickened in anticipation as the equally nervous Togruta came closer and her lungs very gently moved her blue tits up as they filled and back down as they emptied … and up and down … and up and down … and up ...

The hard little nipples impatiently danced in small and subtle but very erotic circles in response to Crystal's heaving chest and Ahsoka was _sure_ she could hear her friend's violent heart drum through the silence that surrounded them.

 _I shouldn't. This isn't right._

Ahsoka's hand didn't listen to her. She was in dire need of … companionship, and if Crystal was offering …

 _Forgive me._

She wasn't sure whom she was apologising to. Arkee? Crystal? Either way, her hand raised, as if it was drawn up and she stepped even closer.

Her own heart joined Crystal's and grew louder the closer her hand crept to the blue skin. By the time she actually touched it, they thundered so loudly she was afraid they'd faint any moment.

"Ah!"

The young Chiss twitched involuntarily. She must have been just as nervous as Ahsoka felt and all the tension just got the better of her.

Ahsoka looked into Crystal's eyes, these big red sparkling spheres of joy, and gently, as if cradling something incredibly fragile, she sat down her hand and cupped the blue breast. Even exposed like this and in the cool basement, her friend felt very warm, she liked it.

She started to slowly glide her hand over the smooth blue skin – very carefully, for Crystal seemed so delicate, so easily broken, that in spite of her friend's brave words, she was afraid of using any real force. But she did move closer and closer until finally, she was gently pressing her body against Crystal's.

She let her hands glide from Crystal's breasts up to her wrists and grasped them, carefully pressing them into the wall. Crystal was at her mercy.

She leaned closer and Crystal's soft breasts pushed against her. She regretted not having taken off her own shirt first, but there was no stopping now. Ahsoka kissed the long slender neck usually hidden behind a shoulder-length veil of smooth black hair. The Chiss smelled rich and fragrant. She didn't recognise the scent but it reminded her of a warm summer day she and Anakin had secretly spent on some incredibly lush planet … although it had not been the vegetation _he_ had called lush, then.

"You smell good, Crystal", she breathed and kissed the blue neck again, pressing herself harder against the young female.

"So do you", Crystal commented, "Must be all that lightning … you smell just like the Aquarium seasons the storms."

The _Aquarium_ … yes, Ahsoka remembered. Poor Crystal had been confined to this _'hotel'_ her entire life. But she _had_ shown Ahsoka a large room where a simulator provided illusions of whatever outside world she chose with visuals, fake sunlight, even temperature and scents. The _'Aquarium'_ , Crystal had called it, both affectionately and with disgust.

She could understand her friend's frustration. No matter how well you decorated it, a prison remained a prison and an illusion would never be more than that.

Her lips found Crystal's earlobe and she gently nibbled on it.

"It's decided, then", she whispered into the blue ear, "I will be your storm."

She grinned. Even to herself, this sounded incredibly silly.

"And I will shake you to the core", she promised, nonetheless.

Crystal slightly quivered in anticipation and Ahsoka savoured the tiny movements. She pulled back a bit and gazed into the bright red eyes before her.

"Uhm ..."

"Hm? What is it?"

The young Chiss pushed her head forward and brushed her lips against Ahsoka's in a very shy kiss, then retreated as quickly as she had advanced and averted her eyes.

"Sorry, I … I shouldn't have done that", she mumbled.

Ahsoka smirked, that was adorable.

"Look at me, Crystal", she commanded.

Hesitantly, her shy friend obeyed.

For a long moment, Ahsoka just looked into the beautiful ruby eyes that lacked any kind of pupils. Then without saying another word, she moved in for the kill. Giving her friend neither time nor chance to resist she kissed her, long and passionately, this time, using her tongue to force Crystal's mouth open and slid it into her before her shocked friend had had the chance to understand what was happening. She closed her eyes, and gripped the blue wrists more firmly.

"Mmmh … Shoha?"

Crystal's eyes had grown wide, at first, but now they were closing as she submitted herself and let the orange teen ravage her mouth and lips.

And they were soft, her lips. Softer, even, than her breasts, and Ahsoka took great pleasure in nibbling on them while she attacked the young Chiss' tongue with her own.

Crystal was breathing heavily when their lips finally parted.

"That was better, wasn't it?"

Her blue friend still was too stunned to say anything, but the sparkle in her red eyes told Ahsoka everything she needed to know.

Eventually, Crystal found her voice again … somewhat.

"But … but … "

"Don't be silly, kisses are part of the game", Ahsoka teased, "Can't have passion without a good kiss."

The blue female smiled, relieved by her answer. Still, she averted her eyes.

"In that case", she mumbled and shyly glanced at her dominating friend, "Again?"

She didn't have to ask twice.

Ahsoka glided a bit to the side and let go of Crystal's wrists as they kissed again.

Her left hand caressed her blue friend's cheek as it slid down, then grabbed Crystal's slender neck and pulled her closer.

The other hand found Crystal's breast and the fully erect nipple that had pushed into Ahsoka's own chest and she brushed her thumb against the rubbery bud.

Crystal's hands now glided over Ahsoka's back, down to her waist, where she grabbed the Togruta under her shirt. Gently pushing her long fingers against Ahsoka's sides, she slowly moved her hands up, pulling the simple white shirt Ahsoka was wearing with it. Bit by bit, Ahsoka's belly stopped pushing against the cool fabric of her shirt and instead clashed with the hot smooth skin of her friend's. And Crystal only stopped just below her breasts.

"Could you … raise your arms?"

A bit surprised by the directness of her request, Ahsoka took half a step backwards and did as she was asked. Crystal took off both, her shirt and bra, with one single swift motion.

Cool basement air greeted her hard nipples, but the chill was soon replaced by the hotness of Crystal's soft body against which her friend was now pulling her. They embraced. The shy hands on her back that gently caressed her skin felt comfortable, very comfortable.

"You know, you can be surprisingly assertive", Ahsoka commented with a smirk.

"Is … is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all."

Ahsoka brought a hand up to caress Crystal's breast. The blue tits were bigger than her own, but she _loved_ how soft they were, how very relaxing to knead.

Still unreasonably afraid to hurt her but a lot more confident she wouldn't accidentally shatter the young girl like glass, she increased the strength with which she pushed and squashed and pulled. It felt very relaxing, sinking her fingers deep into the soft blue flesh and she simply loved the soft quivers that went through Crystal when she tickled her nipples.

Crystal bit her lips and endured the onslaught as gracefully as she could manage. Perhaps it was the pride that seemed to be instilled in every Chiss, perhaps she was simply embarrassed. Either way, she seemed desperate to suppress any and all her bodily reactions to Ahsoka's touches.

.

 _A challenge._

Ahsoka grinned excitedly. She wanted to tear down the façade, she wanted to see Crystal scream with joy. Every bit of resistance the young Chiss offered just _begged_ for her to push the blue girl down and take her violently.

But she didn't. She couldn't. She still was very much afraid to hurt Crystal and _that_ was the one thing she absolutely wouldn't allow herself to do.

Ahsoka carefully pinched Crystal's nipples and was satisfied when yet another quiver went through her friend.

"This is wrong", Crystal complained shivering, "I … I came here to comfort _you_. I shouldn't – mh?!"

Ahsoka shut her up with another kiss.

"Yes, you should", she simply said when their lips parted again.

She inclined her head and sucked the tip of one of Crystal's soft blue tits into her mouth where she relentlessly attacked the little bud on it with her tongue.

Her victim twitched but didn't protest.

Crystal moved her hands up and carefully caressed Ahsoka's montrals. It wasn't very sexual a stimulation, but it felt nice and Ahsoka didn't want her to stop.

"Ah!"

Her friend gasped when the orange teen gently bit her nipple and Ahsoka quickly continued to suck on it, as if it were a candy … a very _erotic_ candy.

"Ahsoka … that… nh!"

Spurred on by the adorable reaction, Ahsoka used her tongue to play with the 'candy' a bit longer, then pulled back her head and released the blue tit from her mouth.

Thoroughly kneading it with one hand, and using her thumb to play with the hard nipple that was now not only more sensitive due to her caress but also glistening from her saliva, she smiled at Crystal – long enough for her to fully anticipate what was going to happen - then pushed her face into the other boob and proceeded to give it the same treatment.

Crystal's breath grew deeper the longer her friend played with her breasts, and after much too long a period of hesitation, she finally allowed herself to be heard.

"Ah..."

The moan was very soft, almost inaudible, but Ahsoka didn't miss it, quite on the contrary, she all but trembled with anticipation.

She looked up at the flustered Chiss with the now hazed eyes and grinned. The passion she felt from her victim was overwhelming. She … _fed_ on Crystal's arousal, letting it arouse herself too and she _drank –_ for want of a better word – the blue female's emotions as others would wine. It felt strange and she couldn't remember having done something like this before, but it also intoxicated her, stronger than alcohol ever could.

Of course by now, Crystal had revealed herself to be nowhere near as innocent as she had seemed when they had first met, but her shy reactions still made Ahsoka feel as if she was corrupting something incredibly pure … and she liked the idea.

She smirked, then used her chin to Force Crystal's up and kissed the exposed blue throat. A soft growl escaped her as she carefully used her species' sharp teeth to nibble on Crystal. Her people were predators, but with Arkee, she had been prey.

Now, _she_ was the predator, and Crystal her shy but willing prey whom she was going to devour.

She carefully scratched her fangs down the blue throat. Although Crystal shuddered from the sensation, she didn't fight it at all and accepted it.

Having reached the base of her friend's throat, Ahsoka licked then kissed her there.

She sucked on Crystal's throat for a bit, then let her lips slide lower, in-between the voluptuous breasts and further down.

The horny Togruti teen hungered for more. She wanted, _needed_ Crystal. She was itching to push her blue friend down and rub herself against her in a violent, carnal dance until both their minds exploded in fireworks of ecstasy. It costed her considerable effort to bury the thought – for now – and concentrate on the quivering flesh beneath her tongue.

Deliberately slow, she slid down – pausing occasionally to kiss the blue belly – until her tongue reached Crystal's navel. She let her tongue play with it a bit while she grasped Crystal's panties with her hands, then tilted her head and looked up.

The young Chiss had brought a hand to her mouth and was hiding behind it. Yet at the same time, she shyly glanced at Ahsoka, silently begging her to keep going,

 _So many conflicting emotions._

Ahsoka silently waited a moment longer, gazing deep into the glistening red eyes. She could feel Crystal's heart quicken the longer they looked into each other's eyes but despite her embarrassment, the young Chiss stubbornly refused to look away.

 _So cute …_

Ahsoka smirked. She had always wondered why Arkee had so liked to tease her … if she had been similarly submissive with her, she could totally understand it now.

She fought again with the idea of simply pushing the blue female down and took her time in removing Crystal's last piece of undergarment. She basked in her friend's embarrassment and arousal, as well as in her own dark desires.

Slowly, the damp and slightly sticky fabric came off, detaching itself from Crystal's crotch with a soft wet noise. In a first reaction, Crystal's hands twitched downwards, as if she had wanted to stop Ahsoka, but that's all they did before she brought them back up and laid them onto her sternum, keeping her hips perfectly still while her purple panties slid from her hips and fell down to the ground.

For a moment, Ahsoka just stared at the Chiss snatch.

It made her friend uncomfortable, being looked at so intensely, she could feel it.

Still, she waited until Crystal started to fidget. Only then did she push her head forward and dived her tongue into her friend's nether regions.

"Ah!"

Crystal gasped and twitched.

The foreplay had done its job, the young Chiss was aroused and wet.

 _Ripe and ready to be plucked._

Ahsoka hugged Crystal's blue hips, both for support and to prevent her friend from escaping, then quickly and forcefully tickled her friend's lust centre with her tongue.

Not sure what to do with her hands, Crystal brought them to her face and gently bit a finger in an attempt to endure Ahsoka's persistent attacks on her nether regions.

 _Good, resist! It will make your fall so much sweeter!_

 _Fall?_

Curious that she should think of this particular word. But she wasted no second thought on the unwelcome distraction.

Her blue victim was now softly rocking her hips back and forth in response to her tongue's wet touches – perhaps unconsciously, Ahsoka couldn't tell. She did her best not to grin and initiated a wild and rhythmic pattern with her tongue..

Crystal's breath grew deeper and her hip movements more violently.

"Nh … sskah..."

The young Chiss mumbled something in-between her moans that Ahsoka didn't quite catch. She sucked her friend's clit into her mouth.

"Ynh!"

Crystal yelped when Ahsoka started to suck on her most sensitive spot and she gritted her teeth. But Ahsoka wasn't satisfied with that weak a reaction. She kept sucking until she could feel her friend's body tense up, then she released the blue clit and quickly continued the rhythmic tongue-dance from before.

"Ahsoka ...", Crystal breathed, and the sound of her friend's heated voice whispering her name sent shivers down the hungry Togruta's spine.

Fighting yet another urge to violently rape her, Ahsoka retraced her head and looked up at Crystal, not noticing she was wearing the same kind of mischievous grin she had seen Arkee sport so many, many times, and it was unsettling her aroused victim.

"Ah … soka? What ..."

"Will you come for me?", the grinning Togruta asked, "Can I make you fly?"

Crystal's bright red eyes widened and the young Chiss' face grew more violet than blue. Still, she nodded her consent. Deeply embarrassed, though, but she did.

The grin that had never left Ahsoka's face widened until it was almost scary, then she pushed her head back into Crystal's lap and coiled her tongue around the Chiss' clit.

"Ah … be gentle, I'm … yeh!"

The quivering Chiss gasped for air and grabbed both of Ahsoka's montrals. Her hips twitched back, but Ahsoka held her firmly. She kept massaging her blue lover with her tongue, closed her eyes and … _listened._

She didn't listen to Crystal's quick and passionate breaths. Well yes, she heard them, and she was also aware of the subtle wet sounds she produced in her friend's crotch.

But she listened deeper – beneath the breath, beneath the quickly pulsing heart. There, deep within her twitching friend, lay a fountain of passion just waiting for her, and she was thirsty. She extended her mind, tapped into that fountain and lapped.

"By the _gods_!"

Crystal's passionate moans brought her back.

"Ahsoka! What are ynh! – aaah!"

Ahsoka reopened her eyes and gazed up at Crystal, never stopping her tongue.

Her friend's entire body was now shaking and the Chiss herself was bending forward, pressing her belly against Ahsoka's montrals in a last but futile attempt to raise her hips away from the skilled Togruta.

"Ahsoka!"

Not listening to her victim, Ahsoka closed her eyes again and used her tongue and mind to tap into both, Crystal's nether region and the fountain of lust she had felt before, spilling the latter throughout her friend's blue body.

Crystal moaned loudly and pressed herself stronger against Ahsoka's montrals. The violent quivers of her body shivered down the hollow horns and the orange back of her friend's and spurred the smaller Togruta girl on.

"Ahsoka!"

It was the only word that came to her mind. All other thoughts were lost in a furnace of searing white passion. Crystal wasn't a stranger to the carnal pleasures her body could give when she craved them, but she had never felt anywhere close to what the little Togruta girl tortured from her crotch.

"Ahsoka!", she pleaded again, "I … gods!"

Her body had been shaking before, but the spasms into which it went now were even stronger.

"Shohah!"

The young Chiss bit down on her teeth and closed her eyes.

"Nah … hah … I … so...kah ..."

It was useless. Her mind refused to form the words she wanted.

After a last moment of hesitation, Crystal surrendered.

"Haarrrh! Haarrrh, hah, hah, hrrr, – by the ... Haaah! Haarrrh ..."

The violent groans escaping her friend's throat surprised Ahsoka, but she didn't let up.

She _wanted_ Crystal to feel this way. _Wanted_ to give the gentle Chiss something back, thank her for being there with something private, something intimate … _passionate_.

Crystal shrieked, then suddenly went silent when the force of her orgasm punched the breath out of her. Ahsoka smiled and savoured the passionate ripples her blue friend sent through the montrals against which she was pressing herself … then she continued.

"No, don't!"

Crystal twitched back and grabbed Ahsoka's head, trying to push it away from her. It wasn't working and she shrieked when her friend's tongue found her clit again.

"I'm too … sensitive!"

She pushed more strongly, but Ahsoka's head didn't give an inch. Instead, an invisible power pried her hands open and pushed them up over her head and against the wall.

She tried to close her legs, at least, but only found they too were pressed against the wall by the same kind of power.

Helplessly shaking from the incredibly pleasurable touches in her crotch, she shrieked.

"Ahsoka!"

The young Togruta grinned.

Yes, this was more like it, this was how she wanted Crystal.

Making sure to keep her friend pinned to the wall with the force, she moved her tongue. Slowly, carefully, but each touch sending violent quivers through the blue body in front of her.

"Sssssoka!"

Crystal's immobilised body shook violently and Ahsoka nearly drowned in the pleasure she felt from her friend's second orgasm.

She stood up and looked at Crystal, gently caressing her face. The red eyes were quivering, unfocussed, but the light touches made the gasping Chiss smile.

Ahsoka took a step back and stripped off her pants and undergarments.

-the basement air was even cooler on her butt than it was on her breast, but she didn't have to endure it long as the next moment, she pressed herself closely against Crystal and the warmth of the blue body dominated all.

"I want you. Here, now, and until we both go insane", she echoed the words Arkee had used on her in their first … _encounter_. They had a similar effect on Crystal now as they had had on her then and the young Chiss' eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"Let me go insane with you", her victim breathed.

Ahsoka smiled, then took a step back and detached herself from Crystal.

The blue girl, in turn, was pulled from the wall by the same force that had pinned her there. Ahsoka turned and stepped further away from the wall, into the depths of the open room, dragging the levitating Chiss with her.

"The ground will be cold", Crystal mumbled, "You sure you don't want to continue this upstairs?"

Ahsoka grinned.

"No way, do you know how _long_ it would take for us to change rooms? I can't hold back that long."

She smirked.

"Besides", she continued, "we're not going to touch the ground."

The blue female that lay in the air, levitated higher, well above Ahsoka's head. Satisfied with the height, Ahsoka leapt at her and embraced her, keeping them both aloft with the force.

"Y-you're going to ..."

Crystal was obviously nervous and she twitched when the naked orange teen above her pushed against her body.

"I am", Ahsoka confirmed and slid a leg in-between Crystal's.

Her hands found Crystal's breasts, again, and she kneaded them gently as she gazed at the Chiss beneath her.

"This is crazy!", Crystal protested.

"Yes, it is."

Ahsoka kissed Crystal's neck again, thereby sinking a bit into the tender blue flesh.

Soft, Crystal was so soft, so incredibly soft …

Ahsoka pushed herself harder into the blue cushion beneath her.

Crystal was a fit girl and far from chubby, but she didn't have the trained body of Arkee's and as a result, the blue girl was much easier to squash.

Comparing them hurt and Ahsoka immediately regretted it but could do nothing to prevent fresh tears from drowning her eyes.

"I'm sorry", she whimpered, then the tears fell and mixed with the sweat on Crystal's body, "I'm sorry!"

Crystal said nothing, she only reached up and pulled Ahsoka's head down onto her chest, gently caressing it.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and let her, but her sobs only gradually ebbed.

Slowly, the two levitating females sank towards the ground until they laid on the floor that they had wanted to avoid. Crystal shuddered when her back touched the cold concrete, but she didn't complain.

They stayed like that, for a while.

Ahsoka listened to Crystal's steady and relaxing breath and felt the blue chest heave and sink in sync with it, gently pushing her head up and down.

"Hmmm...", she finally purred, "You have a nice body, Crystal. Soft, relaxing..."

She pulled herself back up and looked into her friend's gentle red eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a mess."

"It's alright", Crystal smiled, "I'm – I can understand."

Ahsoka returned the smile, then sighed.

"Thank you, Crystal. If there's anything I can do ..."

"There is!"

Ahsoka blinked at the unexpected interruption.

"Y-yes?", she asked nervously.

Crystal blushed and mumbled something, then averted her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

The blue female took a deep breath and looked straight at Ahsoka.

"I… I said … uhm … "

Her blush grew even brighter, but she didn't break eye contact.

"Please f-fuck me, already!"

Ahsoka's mouth fell open.

For a moment, she just gawked at Crystal, then slowly, her mind started to register what she had just heard, and it started to rekindle her earlier desire to rub herself against the submissive girl who – unable to look at Ahsoka any longer – averted her eyes again.

"Or just bury me now", she mumbled.

"I'm _so_ not going to let you forget this", Ahsoka threatened with a smirk, then pushed her crotch down, firmly against Crystal's.

Her friend leaned back and slightly spread her legs, allowing Ahsoka easier access.

"I came here to distract you – obviously, I've done a lousy job so f-ah!"

Without ever uttering a warning, Ahsoka began a slow but steady hump, rocking her body back and forth, gliding over the smooth blue skin of the female she was pressing against the cold floor.

"Oh, I'm distracted, alright."

She pushed herself harder against Crystal, making her naughty friend gasp the next time she moved. Ahsoka growled and brought her fangs down on Crystal's throat, again. Half kissing, half biting the slender blue neck, she cupped Crystal's breasts and played with them. The blue girl shuddered when she felt the sharp little teeth on her skin but offered no resistance whatsoever.

"So violent", Crystal breathed as she moved her arms higher above her head, thereby pushing her soft breasts further up into the wild orange teen ravaging her.

"Are -ynh!"

Crystal twitched. Ahsoka had detached her fangs from her throat and instead gently bit into the rubbery nipples atop her victim's breasts.

As if apologising for the unexpected sting, she quickly sucked the tip of Crystal's tit into her mouth and caressed the now more sensitive buds with her tongue.

"Gh – gods!"

Crystal moaned loudly. Her attacker grinned briefly, then continued.

 _Yes … give in to me …_

"Ah!"

She focused, using the force to make Crystal more aware of her nipples, feel them more intensely. It was a very subtle thing to do … but very effective. Her friend gasped and moaned and bucked, moving Ahsoka up and down with every movement, as if she was riding a wild animal. Crystal's breath came in small but fierce bursts that slightly tickled when they stroke Ahsoka's cheek on their way up.

"Stars, you feel wonderful!", Ahsoka whispered to the young Chiss beneath her, releasing the soft blue tit from her mouth and replacing her tongue with her fingers.

Crystal tried to say something in reply but her heated gasps were the only thing that escaped her throat – gasps her hungry friend eagerly devoured.

"Ahsokah ...", Crystal finally managed.

Her friend's near-orgasmic voice made her heart thump, but this time, there was no need to hold back; this time, she could let herself go wild, let _them_ go wild.

Ahsoka moved her hips with precision. Quickly and with a small circular motion in her thrusts. Her sensitive nether regions mercilessly ground into Crystal's, sending wonderful shocks of ecstasy through both their bodies.

"Hrrrrh..."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep moving even as the pleasure started to tear at her consciousness, threatening to swallow her.

"Sokah ..."

A pair of gentle blue hands caressed Ahsoka's cheek then carefully pulled her head down. The next thing she knew, she was already kissing some soft blue lips.

Ahsoka briefly gazed into the fiery red eyes of her friend, then closed her own.

"Nh …. mmh ..."

It was a strange feeling, being moaned at during a kiss, but it was also exciting. She could feel the vibrations of her friend's voice, almost as if they were her own – and in the strange chaos of their passion, who could tell the difference?

"Mh .. hnh .. hh – ah! Hah!"

The moment they parted their lips, the muffled moans grew lewdly loud, drowning out the squelching sound their wet privates made every time they clashed. Neither of them cared – passion had long swallowed them and all that mattered was the next thrust and the next and the one after that…

Ahsoka noticed Crystal's body was gently quivering and her own hips and legs were shaking from the physical endeavour. She ignored her tired body and focussed on the moaning Chiss she was lying on, instead.

She had always thought Crystal was beautiful and her friend's pupil-less red eyes that so nicely contrasted with her skin gave her an exotic look that left Ahsoka feeling a bit envious.

 _But_ , she realised, the blue girl had never looked more beautiful than right now, quivering beneath her on the brink of an orgasm, desperately trying to prevent the release that eventually must come, _challenging_ Ahsoka to break her.

And she wanted, wanted, _needed_ to break her.

Already, Crystal's pleasure was intoxicating, seeping into Ahsoka and filling her as if it was her own and Ahsoka shuddered in anticipation of how they would feel when she finally managed to tear down the stubborn Chiss' defences.

She didn't know why she could feel her friend's emotions so intensely, but it felt wonderful, addicting, and she needed more … much more.

"Ahsoka!"

The heated shriek pulled Ahsoka's consciousness back into the basement.

Crystal was wildly bucking, now, hugging Ahsoka, firmly pulling her orange body against her own, and violently grinding herself into Ahsoka's movements to amplify their force.

"Nnnnnh – sokah!"

Crystal hugged Ahsoka even more tightly, then the next instant, all her strength failed her and her body fell back, going into spasm.

Pure white pleasure rained down on Ahsoka and she shrieked as Crystal's orgasm became her own. Then everything disappeared behind a white veil and when she opened her eyes again all was quiet – except for their exhausted huffs, of course.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and laid her head down onto Crystal's breasts. The soft blue cushion moved up and down with each of her friend's forceful breaths.

Neither of them said anything and she just listened to the breathing, enjoying the relaxing pressure against her lekku.

* * *

"You're terrible", Ahsoka complained.

"Huh?"

Ahsoka looked at her confused Chiss friend. They were both dressed again and Crystal – like she – was fighting her tired body to stand.

"I was emotionally vulnerable and you shamelessly took advantage of it."

Crystal's red eyes widened in shock.

"No! I didn't – I would never … I ..."

Ahsoka closed the distance between the two of them with a couple of quick steps.

"Ahsoka! You have to believe me, I – "

She didn't wait for Crystal to finish the sentence.

Giving the blue girl no opportunity to defend herself, she hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"W-what?!"

She looked straight into her friend's red eyes and grinned.

"Thank you", she said, "I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't … _distracted_ me."

" _T_ - _that_ was terrible!", Crystal complained, "I really thought you … I ..."

Ahsoka chuckled.

"Arkee was right, this really is fun."

Saying her dead lover's name still hurt, but she managed to maintain the grin.

Crystal blushed and looked at the ground.

"Terrible", she mumbled weakly, but they both knew she didn't mean it.

Ahsoka kissed her again, on the forehead, this time.

"Now get me out of this hole, I need to breathe some fresh air."

Her blue friend raised her head and smiled.

"Of course!"

As the basement could only be opened from the outside, Crystal summoned her father via the intercom embedded next to the door. It didn't take long for the muscular Chiss to make his way down and open the security door.

"So!", he said with a grin, "You feeling better, flameskin?"

Ahsoka blushed and looked down at her feet.

"I'm so sorry", she mumbled.

Crystal had said she had _demanded_ Zor locked her in.

That was true, in a way, but what really had happened had been a bit more violent.

Zor had refused to lock her up, at first, saying she shouldn't be alone. He had been right, of course, but she hadn't taken particularly kindly to his refusal. She had force-pushed him into a wall and choked until he had agreed to lock her up.

"Bah!"

Zor waved her apology aside.

"Don't worry, I've lived through worse."

"But ..."

"I said don't worry."

Ahsoka looked up at Zor who was smiling. He really did seem to mean it.

She sighed.

"Thank you", she said, "I don't deserve this."

"Nonsense! You really want to make this up to me, let's go upstairs. Now. I hate this room, gives me the creeps."

They left the basement quickly and in silence.

Ahsoka felt more relieved with every step she took. She hadn't realised how dark an imprint she had left on the Force down there, but now that she was moving, she wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible, escape to some brighter place, and her two companions – although not capable of using the Force themselves – must have felt the same, for they were almost running by the time they reached the stairs.

Zor clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

"Much better. Seriously, I don't understand why she always brings her students here, but I'm glad she doesn't do … _that_ up here."

 _She_ meant Arkee, of course, and Ahsoka felt a stab in her chest.

Misinterpreting her facial expression, Zor quickly apologised.

"I don't hold it against you, of course, it's great that you're capable of learning this, but for me who cannot understand it … well, it's just frightening."

Ahsoka forced as real-looking a smile as she could manage.

"You don't look easily frightened", she replied.

Zor nodded.

"I'm not."

Some small device on Zor's belt started blinking. He picked it up, looked at the small screen on it and hung it back onto his belt.

"I'm getting a call", he explained, "Crystal, take good care of little Flameskin, yes?"

And with that, he twirled around and left for his room.

" _Little Flameskin_ , am I?"

Ahsoka watched the muscular Chiss disappear, then turned to her blue friend who was chuckling, now.

"Is my name that hard to pronounce to Chiss tongues?"

Crystal shook her head.

"He likes giving nicknames to people he likes", she said, "Guess that includes you."

"Really?"

For some reason, Ahsoka wasn't sure whether she should be glad or worried.

Crystal's smile convinced her to be glad.

"Come", Crystal asked, "You need to see something different after the days you spent down there. I can't take you outside, but I _can_ take you to the _Aquarium_."

Ahsoka nodded. The Aquarium was good, she felt better, but she still didn't want to deal with the loud chaos of the busy streets outside with its myriad of people.

"Let's go", she simply said.

 _Thump!_

They hadn't even reached the first floor yet when Ahsoka suddenly heard – no, _felt_ – something.

 _Thu-thump!_

It had started softly, almost inaudibly, but it quickly grew louder, more intense, and Ahsoka froze.

 _Thu-thump ... thu-thump ... thu-thump ... thu-thump … thu-thump!_

The eerie … _heartbeat_ was slow and powerful, reverberating throughout her body more forcefully than her own.

"Crystal? What's happening?", she asked, loudly to hear her voice over the violent beats.

Her worried friend looked bewildered and completely unaffected by whatever it was she was feeling.

"Nothing's happening, Ahsoka."

She stepped closer and laid a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"Are you alright? Do you want to – "

Ahsoka turned and walked down the steps of the stairs they had just taken, circled around the reception in the entrance hall and went through the door Zor had rushed through.

The corridor led to Zor's room – and the command centre hidden beneath it – but there was another door, not far from it, large and projecting a dark feeling. A room she had never been in. It was here that she felt the beats the strongest.

She didn't bother with being polite and barged in.

The room was very bright and all in white. There was a large grey circle drawn on the middle of the floor, but other than that, the room was completely empty.

Ahsoka walked to the centre of the ominous circle. The Force felt dark, here, not unlike in the basement, but much weaker, and she could feel the heartbeats she had followed tearing through the floor beneath her and ripping through her body.

"You don't want to go down there", Crystal said.

"Why, what is down there, Crystal?", she asked her friend who had followed her.

When she didn't answer, Ahsoka turned and looked at the clearly uncomfortable Chiss.

"What's down there?", she asked again.

Crystal fidgeted and looked down at the ground.

"A med centre", she finally admitted, "And …"

"And?"

The blue girl hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"A-aunty's … corpse."

Ahsoka felt two stabs in her heart, this time.

One, she was familiar with, she had felt it often enough.

The other, though, seemed to come from Crystal and then she realised, Crystal must have missed Arkee too, she must have been lonely and hurt, not unlike she had been herself. Her friend had just been burying her feelings behind a wall of Chiss pride.

"I'm sorry", Ahsoka apologised, "I didn't realise ..."

Crystal shook her head.

"It's alright, you couldn't have known... but let's leave. This place holds nothing but sorrow."

"Not yet."

Ahsoka turned back towards the door. The steady rhythm of the alien heartbeats had never stopped, but now her own anxious heart joined in.

It was impossible, _s_ he knew it.

 _Turn back, you'll only hurt yourself._

"I need to see", she explained with a quivering voice – as much to herself as to her friend, "I need to know."

 _I need to accept._

As if replying to her determination, the strong foreign heartbeats sped up.

Crystal was oblivious to all that, of course, but Ahsoka didn't know how to explain it.

"Please", she instead simply asked, "Show me, Crystal."

Her friend took a deep breath.

Without saying another word, she joined Ahsoka on the grey circle and a moment later, the ground beneath them rushed down a floor.

The room below was just as bright as its entrance above, but nowhere near as empty.

Ahsoka didn't pay attention to the myriad of devices, chemicals and whatnot. She hardly even noticed the temperature drop and she outright ignored the dark power Barriss channelled through herself. Her eyes were fixed on a large white bed.

In front of it, his back turned towards them, stood Zor. Hovering at its left side, her arms extended, her eyes closed in deep meditation, sat Barriss.

And on top of the bed, carefully tucked in … Arkee's grinning corpse.

The corpse looked beautiful, even though it already was a couple days old. Her dead lover's grey eyes glistened in the bright lights illuminating the room, the lifeless pupils seemed to follow the two females as the rode the lift down and when the platform finally came to a halt, the apparition's mouth fell open and it spoke with a beautiful voice that should have been forever silenced.

"Good morning, darling", it said and smiled, then looked at Crystal who was just as stunned as the orange Togruta the corpse had just addressed.

"Crystal."

Arkee's corpse nodded a greeting then leaned back and looked at Zor.

"See? I _told_ you she'd come."

Zor turned and looked at the frozen female duo then back at the talking corpse.

"I'll give you some private time", he said, "It's good to have you back, little fly."

"Thank you, it's good to be back, my black monster."

Zor turned, smiled and slowly walked up to the platform his daughter and her Togruti friend were standing.

"Crystal?", Ahsoka asked, taking a careful step towards the bed.

"Y-yes?"

Ahsoka took another, quicker step, then another, and another...

"If we're still in the basement … if my demented mind is dreaming this up … don't wake me."

She broke into a run, and leapt onto the bed. Her body crashed into the pale corpse on it and she hugged it, kissed it, hugged it tighter..

The corpse felt warm – beautifully, wonderfully warm – which meant it wasn't one at all. Ahsoka brought her lips up, pushed them against Arkee's and kissed her _living_ lover deep and passionately. Tears were blurring her vision, streaming down her cheeks and drenching Arkee's. Ahsoka didn't care. She ran her hands through the long golden hair and across the soft pale cheeks and kissed the helpless Anzat even more passionately.

"I'm dead!", she exclaimed briefly, then kissed Arkee again, "Or insane!"

Arkee never got to reply for already, the hungry orange lips were muffling her again, pressing her head strongly into the soft pillow beneath them.

"Or both! I don't care."

She pressed Arkee close to her chest, buried her head in her neck and cried, kissed the pale skin and cried some more.

"Careful, darling", the overwhelmed Anzat teased, "Don't kill me now."

Ahsoka laughed, although she was crying, and kissed Arkee once more.

"How?! You died! I saw you die!"

"No", Arkee answered, "Very nearly, but no."

Her lover grinned.

"You _thought_ you saw me die and your fear that it might be true prevented you from reaching out and sensing the truth."

Arkee brushed a hand across Ahsoka's wet cheek.

"Still, I _would_ have died if it weren't for your green friend."

"She – she healed you?"

Ahsoka looked at Barriss who had shown no reaction to her or Crystal's presence and was still hovering at the side of the bed, her eyes closed. She was impressed.

"No", Arkee shook her head, "But she prevented me from dying until the treatment was over. You see, nasty thing about lightsabres is, they don't leave you bleeding but instead cauterize the wound. To have any chance of healing, the wound must be re-opened and the cauterized parts removed. Only then can you hope the Bacta to have any positive effect. Easy enough with simple cuts, but a hole in your guts … now that's something else."

The pale Anzat's eyes twitched aside and she briefly looked at the hovering Mirialan.

"She kept me alive through a treatment that should have killed me."

Ahsoka looked at the friend they had saved from being executed. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many impressions she wanted to share, but she couldn't possibly put them into words.

"Thank you", she instead simply said.

Barriss didn't react at all.

"Barris?"

She looked back at her lover beneath her.

"It's alright, she's just too deep in meditation. Go ahead and touch her, that should snap her out of it."

A bit reluctantly, Ahsoka climbed off Arkee and stood up. She feared that if she let go of her lover, she'd wake up and realise this was all a dream, a lie. A stupid fear, of course, and she forced herself to ignore it.

"B-Barriss?"

She touched her friend's shoulder.

"Er … she's alive, you can stop, now."

Barriss' eyes snapped open and Ahsoka noticed they had changed colours to a bright gold, although they were quickly regaining their original blue.

"Thank the … force", Barriss breathed, then the young Mirialan's eyes turned up into her head and she collapsed.

"Barriss?!"

"Stupid girl!", Arkee cursed.

She extended one of her hands over the heap of green flesh on the ground and slowly, Barriss' body lifted off the ground and hovered up.

"Is … is she alright?"

"Of course she is. Stupid girl's just overexerted herself."

One side of the blanket Arkee was covered in rose and Barriss' limp body levitated onto the bed and slid under the blanket, right next to Arkee, then the sheet fell back down.

"Hah!", Arkee exclaimed, heavily beathing, "Guess I need more rest."

Still she rolled a bit onto her side – not much, just enough to be able to brush her lips against Barriss' cheek in a brief kiss.

"Thank you, stupid girl."

Ahsoka stepped closer and kissed Barriss' green forehead.

"Thank you for saving her."

Quite unexpectedly, there was a third set of lips that kissed Barriss.

"Thank you for saving both of them", Crystal said and straightened back up.

Crystal! Ahsoka had almost forgotten she had still been in the room.

The young Chiss stood at the side of the bed and smiled at Arkee.

"W-welcome back, aunty", she said with a faint but noticeable quiver in her voice, "It's good to – heh?"

Arkee had raised a hand and Crystal tripped forward, pulled by the force, and fell onto the bed and the pale female in it.

"Come here, my little Crystal."

The white Anzat ruffled Crystal's shoulder-long and usually very straight black hair affectionately.

"I was afraid I wouldn't get to do this, anymore."

Crystal's body shook, then she started crying and hugged Arkee.

"You Chiss and your bloody pride", Arkee complained and carefully combed Crystal's hair with her fingers, only to ruffle it again.

The young blue girl let her and only sobbed in reply.

Crystal's emotional outburst didn't last quite as long as Ahsoka's, but it lacked none of its intensity. Ahsoka felt the pain explode out of her friend that would have ignited a storm of force lightning had Crystal been force sensitive.

Soon, Crystal regained some control over herself. She stopped sobbing and her body calmed down.

"You know I don't like it when you ruffle my hair", she mumbled, but made no attempt to stop Arkee from doing it again.

"I know", Arkee replied with a grin, "But I do."

As if to prove the point, she pushed her fingers through Crystal's hair again.

"You're horrible", Crystal mumbled but smiled.

Eventually, Crystal straightened back up and Arkee looked at them with a strange glint in the eyes.

"Now … what happened between the two of you?"

Surprised, the two females looked at each other, then back at the grinning Anzat.

"How – "

"We – "

They both fell silent at the same time.

"You smell similar", Arkee teased, making them both blush and look down.

"I … I'm sorry", Crystal offered.

"I'm sorry", Ahsoka echoed, "I … I cheated on you."

"You chea—?!"

Arkee started to chuckle.

Ahsoka blinked and raised her head.

"You … you don't mind?"

"What, did you expect me to burst with jealousy?"

Arkee shook her head, raised a hand and used the force to pull Ahsoka back down onto herself.

"You are _mine_ ", she stated matter-of-factly as she ran her smooth fingers over Ahsoka's cheek, " _Mine_."

She gently pulled Ahsoka's head closer and gifted the blushing Togruta a brief kiss on her lips.

"No matter where, when or with whom you are.", she continued, then grinned, "If anything, it should be the world who's jealous of me, my darling _wife._ "

Ahsoka's eyes widened. The grinning pale woman had made sure to pronounce the unexpected last word very clearly and it was working. She felt the heat rush to her face and looked away.

"You still like to see me embarrassed", she mumbled.

"And you still look so cute when you are."

"But ...", Arkee whispered, intentionally loud enough for Crystal to hear, "… just you wait until I've regained the strength in my hips and I'll make sure to find a suitable … _punishment_ for a naughty girl like you."

Barriss moaned in her sleep.

"Won't let you hurt her...", she mumbled softly.

The other three females gawked at the unconscious green girl then looked at each other and chuckled.

Arkee raised a hand to Barriss' cheek and gently caressed it.

"Don't worry", she promised, "I won't. I'll punish her with lots and lots of pleasure."

Barriss sighed and the corners of her mouth rose ever so slightly but she kept sleeping.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Whew, she lives.  
I must admit, that wasn't the original plan, though.  
I had intended for Arkee to truly die and return as a force ghost for a last "goodbye" (ever had sex with a ghost? =D ).  
BUT I did like her, so when multiple people, both here and elsewhere, started to express a wish for her to live, I didn't take long to be convinced.  
Did I make the right decision? We'll see. For now, I'm just happy people care about her at all.  
Thanks for your feedback, I always welcome any thoughts you'd like to share with me (also by pm, if you're not comfortable with giving public feedback).

If you liked what you read so far (well, I kind of doubt you'd be reading this if you hadn't) consider adding me or my story to your story alerts - if you haven't already - and FF will send you a notification when the next installment is ready.  
Until then, may the force serve you well.


	7. Ch7 - Tightening the Noose

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.7: Tightening the Noose**

Ahsoka snuggled herself closer against Arkee's body. She loved the warmth that penetrated her skin for it told her, her … her _wife_ was still alive.

The young Togruta smiled. She would never get used to calling Arkee that.

They were alone. A broth... er, hotel – even when it was just meant to hide the truth about this place – was a lot of work, so Crystal was still busy and Barriss had insisted on helping.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, had spent most of her time here, still afraid that if she left Arkee alone for too long, she would disappear.

She sighed and closed her eyes, fully feeling the softness of the pale Anzati body she was hugging.

So here they were, down in the med centre, both lying in the bed with nothing but a heavy blanket covering their nude bodies. Although they were both naked, they hadn't risked any sexual activities yet. Ahsoka didn't care, she just wanted to feel Arkee as closely as she could.

She sighed again – that made the umpteenth time, already – and smiled. Arkee had moved her hand and was gently stroking Ahsoka's lekku. Her caress wasn't erotic in nature but it still sent shivers down Ahsoka's spine.

"I'm never letting you go again", she mumbled and rubbed her cheek more strongly into the soft white breasts she was resting her head on.

"Never ever."

"That makes how many times you've said that already?", Arkee asked amusedly.

"Not counting", Ahsoka mumbled back, "Not letting you go either."

She concentrated on her lover's calm breathing and let the slowly heaving ribcage beneath her carry her head up and down.

"Never."

Arkee chuckled softly and kissed Ahsoka's montrals.

"I love you", she whispered.

Three simple words, but they sent a shock through Ahsoka's body.

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice that I had never actually said these words until I felt that sabre burn through me", Arkee apologised, "Don't want _that_ to be how you remember them."

Ahsoka crawled a bit further up and more onto the white body until she was lying on top of Arkee, her eyes aligned with the beautiful silver seas of her ancient lover, their breasts pushing into each other's.

"I won't", she simply said, then kissed the woman beneath her long and passionately.

* * *

Eventually, Ahsoka had to leave for a moment. Zor had returned and insisted on running some tests on Arkee's recovering body.

Reluctant, though, but out of necessity, Ahsoka had detached herself from her lover, dressed and finally remembered that she was starving.

She made her way to the dining room and was greeted by some very polite waitress that directed her to a table in a more silent corner of the room.

Soon after, another waitress approached her. But this one was special, it seemed, for her outfit was unlike the other waitresses' uniforms.

The other waitresses all wore the same simple elegant light blue dress, this one, on the other hand, wore an incredibly frilly lavender dress and a white pinafore over it. Though she didn't look any less elegant than the other females that served the guests, she more resembled a maid than a waitress.

"T-thank you for stopping by … w-what can this unworthy servant do for you, m-my lady?", she stuttered and clumsily curtsied.

Ahsoka gawked at the blushing green-skinned maid with the short black hair.

"Barriss?!"

She very nearly started to laugh.

Her green friend's blush grew brighter and she averted her eyes.

"Not my idea", she mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

No, Ahsoka knew whose idea this was, and her suspicion was only confirmed when an obviously high-spirited Chiss girl in an elegant purple dress sauntered in to join them.

"Looks cute on her, doesn't it?", Crystal asked.

Ahsoka eyed her flustered Mirialan friend head to toes and grinned.

"Definitely."

"You hear that?", Crystal asked Barriss, "What do we say?"

"Th-thank you for your kindness, m-my lady", Barriss obediently replied and bowed deeply.

Ahsoka gawked at Barriss, then at Crystal.

"What are – "

"Well, don't just stand there, girl, get her order!", Crystal commanded.

"Y-yes, awawa – I mean, right away."

Heavily blushing, Barriss turned to Ahsoka, though it was hard for her to maintain eye contact.

"What will you be having … my lady?"

Somewhat bewildered but willing to play along, Ahsoka slowly gave her … order. Barriss bowed deeply, turned and walked – no, fled – towards the kitchen.

"She's a quick learner", Crystal remarked with a hint of pride in her voice as she sat down at Ahsoka's table and grinned at her confused friend, "What do you think?"

"I ..."

Ahsoka glanced at the door through which Barriss had disappeared.

"I don't know _what_ to think", she admitted, "What are you doing?"

"Training her", Crystal stated simply but with a mischievous glint in her pupil-less red eyes, "She's adamant about wanting to _atone_ for what she did to you, so convincing her to play your servant was easy."

"But … why would you ..?"

"Because she's so cute in that outfit."

Ahsoka's mouth clapped open and Crystal giggled at her dumbfound expression.

"You're not serious!"

"I am … sort of. I simply didn't want her to put on that suffocating … _thing_ she was putting together. Does her species' skin not need to _breathe_?"

Ahsoka smiled, she knew the kind of outfit Barriss would consider wearing and she could understand why Crystal would find it suffocating.

"But she _is_ cute in that outfit, isn't she?"

Crystal glanced at the Mirialan maid that was slowly walking out of the kitchen's door, trying her best to hold a large tablet steady.

Ahsoka followed her eyes and looked at her eager green friend's concentrating on balancing Ahsoka's breakfast towards her table. The frilly dress in lavender and white twirled seductively around Barriss' sleek figure.

Ahsoka blushed slightly as she nodded.

"She definitely is."

* * *

Barriss had disappeared again to help in the kitchen and Crystal too was hurrying from table to table. Still, the blue girl briefly approached her when Ahsoka stood up.

"Are you going back down?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"Ah, the sweet calling of love", Crystal teased theatrically, successfully driving the heat to Ahsoka's face.

"Tell her the … tell her I found … _it_. She'll understand. _"_

Crystal blushed and looked down at the floor.

"A-and remind her of her promise", she asked.

"What promise?"

Crystal's blush grew brighter.

"She'll know", she simply said secretively.

As she couldn't get anything more specific out of Crystal, Ahsoka nodded and somewhat confused left for the med centre.

Her heart skipped a beat when she found the bed Arkee should have been lying in empty.

 _Calm yourself, she's not gone and died._

Zor must have taken her out for some more experiments. She'd simply wait until –

"Eeeeek!"

Ahsoka shrieked in surprise when she was suddenly embraced from behind.

Gentle hands cupped her breasts while soft lips went for her neck.

"You still suck at this game, darling", her devious lover complained before she kissed the stunned Togruta on the shoulder.

"Arkee!"

Ahsoka forced herself to breathe and tried to calm her quickly beating heart.

"Mmmmh", Arkee purred as she kissed Ahsoka again.

"One day, you're going to give me a heart attack", her victim complained weakly.

"M-hm."

Arkee kissed Ahsoka's neck yet again.

"But not today."

"A-anyway, should you be up?"

"Zor says I'm allowed to move but I had to promise to be careful."

Arkee affectionately squeezed Ahsoka's breast, then let go of her prey, staggered to the bed and sat down. Ahsoka noticed she was sweating and out of breath. Arkee was also wearing a simple white pyjama, now.

"It's tiring, but at this point, I'm fighting the drugs they've pumped me full of more than I'm fighting my nearly-healed injury."

She smiled, and laid back down.

"How's life above?"

Ahsoka's heart was still beating wildly and it took her a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Er … they're fine."

Ahsoka briefly recapped her experiences at her breakfast. Arkee grinned when she told her about Barriss' maid play, but said nothing.

"Crystal asked me to tell you she found … _it_ ", Ahsoka ended her report, "She said you'd understand."

Arkee raised an eyebrow.

"Already?"

"And – uh – I'm also to remind you of your … _promise_."

Arkee grinned again.

"I hadn't forgotten."

"If you don't mind my asking … what was she talking about?"

Her lover's grin widened and she licked her pale lips.

"You'll see … you'll see _very_ soon."

Ahsoka shivered. She laid down next to Arkee and gazed into the mischievously sparkling grey eyes.

"You're going to do something horrible to me again, aren't you?"

Arkee nodded.

"And you'll love it", she promised and kissed Ahsoka on her montrals.

Ahsoka felt a hint of excitement from her otherwise calm teacher.

"That reminds me … what's happening to me, Arkee?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I … down in the Basement, when Crystal and I … well, you know..."

The young Togruta blushed and Arkee grinned.

"Oh, I know", she teased.

"W-well, I … I could _feel_ Crystal's emotions."

"You were a Jedi once. That shouldn't surprise you?"

"Yes … but it was much more intense, much more … intimate. Before, it had just been hunches about a person's intention. Whether or not he was lying, how somebody felt about a decision – you know, the general idea. This time, I … I … I don't know, I _fed_ on the emotions, drew strength from them, and felt them as keenly as had they been my own."

She looked into Arkee's grey eyes and felt a deep calmness with a hint of excitement..

"I can even feel yours this very moment, and I'm not even trying."

"Really?"

Arkee smirked.

"Interesting. Have you recently looked into a mirror?"

"A – a mirror?"

Arkee reached out and summoned a small mirror from a nearby table.

"Go ahead, look."

Confused about what her teacher was trying to tell her, Ahsoka glanced into the mirror … and gasped.

"Do … do they stay that way?"

Ahsoka's voice was near-panicked.

Arkee shook her head.

"Only just changed when you started talking about emotions. I think they'll change back soon enough."

She smirked and Ahsoka sighed in relief.

"They suit you, though."

"They … really?"

Ahsoka blushed and carefully looked into the mirror, again. That was her, alright, she recognised her face … but her eyes... she had the bright golden eyes of a Sith, like when she was channelling force lightning, except they weren't changing back to their original blue, now. Did they suit her?

"You are more sensitive to emotions because you've opened yourself to the force. _All_ of the force, not just the limited view the Jedi preach", Arkee explained with a proud expression, "You're learning awfully quickly, darling, now you must learn to maintain an equilibrium."

Ahsoka looked into the mirror again and carefully watched her golden eyes. They were beautiful in their own way, she guessed, but knowing what they were, they were also frightening.

"But … but I'm not using the dark side right now."

Her teacher chuckled.

"Oh, but of course you are. Whenever you touch the force, you're touching both its sides. They are interwoven, inseparable. At most, you can tilt the balance in favour of one or the other but you cannot eradicate either part."

"But the Jedi ..."

"The _Jedi_ are masters in suppressing their emotions, turning themselves into droids, claiming emotions were just _'a trick the mind plays on itself'_."

Arkee grimaced.

"No, actually, they are worse. At least droids are truly incapable of feeling emotions. The Jedi _could_ feel emotions if they allowed themselves to. Instead, they are mutilating the children they take, twisting their students into a disgusting mockery of life."

She noticed she had become agitated and softened her voice before she continued.

"But you, darling, you're refusing to become a droid. You are wonderful."

"I'm scared", Ahsoka admitted, "What if I lose control? What if I hurt somebody I don't want to?"

Her teacher chuckled.

"Access-code Aurek, voiceprint: Arkee. Give me the recordings of the last documented mission, forward to mark 32", she commanded to nobody in particular.

"Access code accepted", a mechanical voice replied.

The room dimmed and moments later, a holo recording of Ahsoka, Barriss and Arkee approaching the still-hooded Rick Demyrr played in front of them.

"Pay close attention, darling", Arkee said, "This is your _'losing control'_ , you'll find you're very much capable of choosing whom you hurt."

* * *

Miles away, and yet perilously close, the same recording played in the Jedi council's chamber. There, the wise masters of the order watched unmoving and in absolute silence as the fight started … and ended in a veritable carnage.

Even after the record had ended, there was a long moment of silence.

"She must be brought to justice", somebody eventually offered.

That broke the silence and gave way to a long – and at times heated – discussion.

Just one master didn't bother to take part in the squabbling: Yoda.

The ancient green Jedi just sat there, brooding, and eventually closed his eyes in meditation.

"Master Yoda?", Kenobi eventually asked, "You haven't said anything yet?"

The little green Jedi opened his eyes.

"Listened to you, I have. Listened to myself, too. Said everything, you already have, that worth to say, there is. Trying to remember, I was."

"Remember what?", Mace Windu joined in.

"Not heard, I have, on whose authority these Jedi were acting."

There was a moment of silence.

Yoda gestured with his hand and the holo recording started rewinding until another gesture resumed normal play.

"… terest in me?", a visibly agitated Ahsoka demanded, "I left the order."

"I don't question the members of the Council, Miss Tano", Rick Demyrr's holo replied, "I receive my orders, I obey."

Yoda froze the playback with another gesture.

"Trying to remember, I was, when become a Jedi path, assassination has", he said with a clearness that shocked many for it revealed anger and nobody had ever thought Master Yoda could _be_ angry. That just didn't happen.

"And not recall, I could, when agreed to this, the Council has, for agreed, _I_ have not. Talk about Padawan Tano, we do, but first, talk about these assassins, we must."

"We can't simply ignore she's killed half a dozen Jedi on her own", Windu insisted, "Fully-trained Jedi – not Padawans – every single one of which should have outmatched her."

"Outmatched she was", Yoda replied, fastforwarding the holo recording to the moment when Ahsoka had thrown Barriss and the strange woman from the platform, "Into her eyes look. Know it, she did. Prepared to die, she was, to allow her friend's escape. Not of the dark side, such a thing is."

The Jedi Council relaxed – as if collectively sighing in relief.

"And yet", Ki-Adi-Mundi objected, "What we've seen suggests she's dodged the shot by a hair's breadth only."

"Her attack is the darkest I've witnessed in decades", Eeth Koth agreed.

"She did manage to kill these assassins", Windu added.

"And her last victim is still screaming in pain."

"The truth, that is", Yoda conceded, "Fear, anger, hate. Powerful, her emotions were. Pure her hatred for those who killed her companion. Cared for her, she had."

Yoda pointed his stick at the frozen holo of Demyrr.

"And arrogant her attackers were. Unprepared, easily caught off-guard. Underestimated her, they did."

"Are you suggesting she survived … by chance?", Kenobi asked.

"Even if that were true", Windu interrupted, "She did not simply kill her attackers, she also murdered at least one clone and her disguise suggests she also had a hand in the death of Thom Naran. He wasn't a very likeable character, I'm told, but we cannot just ignore murder."

"Ignore it, we will not", Yoda agreed, "But find, we must, the mind behind these assassins."

"I'll look into it", Kenobi offered, "Ahsoka was Anakin's Padawan and I knew her well. If there are people going after her, I want to find them."

"Be careful, Obi-Wan", Shaak Ti recommended, "That your feelings don't trick you into seeing the things you want, rather than the things you need to see."

"Say nothing to Skywalker", Windu warned, "He's not stable."

"He _has_ taken Ahsoka's leave rather personally, I'll say nothing", Obi-Wan agreed.

"What about Tano?", Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, "We should bring her here, make sure she isn't fallen."

"And turn her over to the proper authorities", Rancisis suggested.

Yoda sighed.

"Talk to her, I will; look into her eyes. Determine what to do with her, afterwards, we can."

"How will you find her? She could be anywhere on Coruscant, Master."

"Leave the temple, I will, Obi-Wan. Walk where my feet will carry me and trust in the Force."

"What if Tano is dangerous?", Plo Koon objected.

"Ha! Believe that, you do not. But dangerous too, I am, old and not easy to surprise. Nothing to fear from her, I have."

There was another long silence.

"Are we in agreement, then?", Windu asked.

With the meeting concluded, the members of the council disappeared one by one.

Yoda too hobbled away on his stick but he hadn't even left the floor when Obi-Wan caught up with him.

"Master, why are you defending Ahsoka so?", he asked.

"Asked me this in the meeting, you did not."

"I didn't. I thought that if there _is_ somebody in our council who's secretly training assassins, you may not want him to hear your answer."

"Smart."

Yoda waited a moment, then sighed.

"Responsible I feel, for the loss of Padawan Tano. Let her down, we have."

"You're doing this … because you feel guilty?"

Kenobi didn't even try to hide his surprise.

"Guilty, yes, but worried too. On her own, learned to use the force like that, Padawan Tano has not."

"You suspect she is being corrupted by the Sith Lord we are looking for?"

"Perhaps."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them and Kenobi hung his head a bit. He had hoped Anakin's old padawan would be alright, happy.

"Master Kenobi", Yoda asked and Kenobi raised his head, surprised to be addressed so formally, "Your advice, I need."

"My – my advice, Master?"

"Fallen Padawan Tano already has once. Witnessed this, you have. When looked at the holovid, you did, feel the same, she does now, as she had then?"

Obi-Wan thought about it for a moment.

"No, master."

"Sure of this, you are?"

"Yes, master."

"Then worry, you should not."

Yoda smiled, then turned serious.

"But careful you must be, Obi-Wan. If truly on the council sits, the master of these assassins, dangerous your tasks is."

"Do you think that likely, Master?"

Yoda sighed.

"Refuse to believe it, I do."

He pointed at Obi-Wan with his stick.

"You, a more open mind must have. Trust yourself, trust the force, and revealed to you, the traitor will be."

Yoda turned and started to limp away.

Kenobi didn't follow him this time, but he did ask one last question:

"What if you are wrong about Ahsoka, Master?"

"A Jedi I am. Do what needs be done, I will."

* * *

"I … I did that?"

Ahsoka had watched her holo-self unleash a wave of hatred that knocked the surprised Shadows off their feet.

She was ashamed to admit it, but she felt joy when she saw the small figure mangle those she had thought had killed Arkee. An itch, a thrill, a dark desire to hurt. And when the little blue Togruta dismembered her last victim and pushed it down, she grinned.

"Do it", she whispered to her holo, her eyes burning with the brightest gold.

She saw the helpless Jedi twist beneath her, groan in pain as he tried to defend against the unrelenting mental attack.

"Beg! Beg for mercy!", Holo-Ahsoka screamed, "And I promise you a swift death."

"Go … go fuck yourself."

Ahsoka's hand twitched when her holo equivalent punched the last Shadow in the face. It had felt good then, it still felt good now.

The recording ended with her leaping from the platform but the adrenaline continued to run through her veins. It took a moment – a long moment – for her to calm down.

"I … how did I _do_ that?", she eventually asked

Ahsoka didn't know how she felt about what she just experienced, but she was trembling. She looked at Arkee who was now serious.

"Don't do it again", she simply said, "Now that they know you're not the weak little padawan they thought you were, you won't be able to surprise them like that again."

Ahsoka nodded carefully, then sat down on the bed next to Arkee.

"Are you angry with me?"

Her teacher made a surprised face.

"Of course I'm not angry with you."

The gentle Anzat winked.

"And you really _did_ teach those arrogant bastards a lesson."

She pulled Ahsoka down and smiled as she caressed her orange cheek.

"I just don't want you to teach them a lesson at the cost of your life."

Ahsoka returned the smile in relief.

"In that case, uh … how long until you're well enough to move normally, again?"

She blushed and averted her eyes.

"Well, I suspect a day or two at least. Why are you … oh."

Arkee grinned.

"Are you going through withdrawal, already?"

Her pupil grinned guiltily and snuggled into her white lover.

"My naughty, naughty _wife_ ", Arkee commented as she slowly stroke Ahsoka's happily tingling lekku, "You'll be very sorry you told me that."

Her body quivered, but Ahsoka closed her eyes that had returned to their original blue and smiled.

"Mercy, Master!", she mumbled.

* * *

"Master."

Lucia knelt down in front of the holo table and bowed to the blue figure it displayed.

"Stand, Lucia", her Master commanded, "There's no need for this ostentatious display of subservience when we're alone."

"So you keep telling me", Lucia said as she stood up, "But it does help me remember that I am indeed a servant to the light and by its extension to you."

She smiled.

"It's so good to see you, Master. What news?"

"Rick and his squad are dead."

The sentence was short, spoken without emotion, but it shocked her nonetheless.

"All of them?", she whispered.

"Mikah is still in the med bay. His mind is broken and he hasn't stopped screaming in pain. We've tried everything, but I will soon be forced to release him."

Lucia wanted to feel angry. But being angry led to the dark side, so she suppressed it.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace._

She wanted to feel sad, but being sad led to the dark side, so she suppressed it.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace._

Showing any emotion at all led to the dark side. So she suppressed them all.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace._

"Who?", she finally asked calmly.

"Ahsoka Tano."

"Skywalker's lost _pet_ ", Lucia commented, "Has she finally fallen for good?"

Her master nodded.

"The council is unanimous on the matter: Tano _must_ be eliminated."

"If that is the council's decision, I will obey."

Lucia felt guilty about the joy she felt when she received the command.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace_ , she repeated to herself.

Aloud to her Master, she asked: "Where is she?"

"We don't know. After she's killed Rick, she disappeared again."

Lucia gritted her teeth. That meant she had to search for Tano, first, and she hated searching for people. It took time, a lot of time, and every false lead was slowing her down, letting the Sith bitch live longer.

She forced herself to relax. Frustration led to the dark side.

 _There is no emotion, there is peace._

Her Master saw through her.

"You're eager", he stated, "Don't worry, you won't have to wait long."

Lucia tilted her head in question but said nothing.

"Master Yoda has left the temple looking for Tano. Watch him and he'll eventually lead you straight to where you need to be."

"Yoda?"

Lucia blinked. Why was she needed when the being rumoured to be the most powerful Jedi living in this age was taking things into his own hands?

"I'm sure Master Yoda is fully capable of handling a failed padawan like Tano?"

"He would be", her Master agreed, "If he were one of us. But Master Yoda is old and has a soft heart. _And_ he's grown attached to his former pupil. He won't do what is necessary. In many ways, you are better suited to take out Tano."

"I understand, Master."

"Don't let him know. If his emotions get the better of him, he might even stand in Tano's defence. Find out where she is, then wait for him to leave before you act."

"It will be done", Lucia answered obediently.

Internally, she was giddy with excitement. A hunt, finally. It's been _way_ too long since she killed some dark side scum.

She regretted these feelings, though, she would have to punish herself later. There _were_ no emotions, and if her mind did not accept that, her body would feel the consequences. Of course pain too was an illusion, but one she had found annoyingly hard to dispel.

"I'm not sending you alone, though."

"Master?"

"Tano had help, some mysterious Sith woman."

Her Master's holo disappeared and in its stead, the holo table showed a pale woman with long hair, spiked by Mikah's sabre.

"That wound looks nasty. You think she lives?"

Her Master's holo re-appeared and he pondered a moment.

"We can't feel her in the force, but we aren't familiar with her and the dark side clouds many things. We can't be sure. Either way, they weren't alone. An unknown amount of beings helped them escape, _and_ they have Offee, now."

Lucia nodded slowly.

"Who will be coming with me?"

"The council is sending you Ta'aan Kii and Sumia Zaro."

Lucia's mouth clapped open.

"Is – isn't that overkill, Master?"

"Beware of arrogance, Lucia. Rick was formidable but he was working with arrogant children", her Master warned her, "The council still grieves our blindness concerning Dooku, we will not make the same mistake again. You shouldn't repeat Rick's."

Lucia nodded but said nothing.

"Tano displayed a worrying array of dark side abilities", her Master continued,"And she _will_ be stopped. _Any_ threat to the light _must_ be eliminated, and the three of you have each proved exceptionally competent in eliminating threats."

She bowed to the holo.

"Command me", she asked, "And I'll kill the filth."

"Go, eliminate Tano", her Master obliged, "If the renegade Offee is with her, eliminate them both. _That_ is your top priority. Try to keep civilian casualties at a minimum but do what you must. No price too high to destroy the Sith."

She nodded.

Her Master smiled and his voice grew softer as he allowed himself to show a brief moment of weakness.

"Unofficially … I'm proud of you, Lucia. Please be careful."

"Of course, Master."

"May the Force guide your blade."

The holo flickered and a moment later, the call ended.

Lucia all but leapt in joy.

Finally! _Finally_ she was sent out again!

She drew her sabre, ignited the double purple blades and twirled a little dance to its humming through her room, sending her slightly curly brown hair flying.

When this was over, she would need to punish herself severely for this outbreak of emotion, but for now, she revelled in the thrill she felt.

Soon, a Sith would die, as was the fate of _all_ the Sith, and _she_ would be the one to strike.

* * *

The next few days went by relatively uneventfully and when Arkee finally was able to walk out of the med centre on her own, Ahsoka decided she could afford to believe her lover wasn't going to disappear as soon as she wasn't looking.

And if Arkee wasn't disappearing, she had time for that long-overdue talk with Barriss she had been actively trying to avoid for as long as possible.

So here they were.

She looked at the upset green female to her feet.

Barriss had explained herself … and then couldn't bear to stand anymore. Still wearing the maid- _thing_ Crystal had pushed her into, she had collapsed into a pitifully sobbing carpet of green and lavender.

Only a few months ago, what Barriss had told her would have shocked Ahsoka. She should have been surprised by the disgust with which her friend had spoken of the Jedi, she should have been upset by the anger with which the green healer described her frustration, how she had loathed to patch up clones just to send them back to the front lines and to their deaths. She should have been worried by how cruelly Barriss had plotted with a group of Anti-Jedi activists and she should have been horrified by how easily Barriss had decided to kill Letha.

She should have been these things … but she wasn't.

"Stand up, Barriss", Ahsoka said as gently as she could manage.

Her heart was happily jumping from the knowledge Barriss had never intended to hurt her, not truly, and she didn't want to see her friend in that kind a state.

She knelt down and carefully touched her friend's shoulder.

"Stand up", she said again, "If there ever was something to forgive, consider it atoned for when you saved Arkee's life."

Barriss didn't move.

"I don't deserve this", she whimpered into the ground, instead, "Punish me."

"I … I'm not going to _punish_ you, Barriss. Stand up."

Her green friend refused to move.

"Punish me", she insisted again.

 _Oh, for goodness' sake …_

"I'm not ..!"

"Problem?"

Ahsoka whirled around to see a pale woman standing in the door, leaning casually against its frame while watching the proceedings with a smirk on her lips as she played with her long light hair.

"Arkee! How long have you been there?"

"Only just came, need help?"

"Yes! Barriss refuses to stand up until I punish her."

"So punish her."

Ahsoka gawked at her Anzati lover.

"I'm not going to punish her!"

"Why not?"

"I … I'm alright, she's alright, you're alright, we all are fine and that's the only thing that matters. I don't want to hurt her."

Arkee grinned mischievously. She took a few steps into the room and knelt down to Barriss. The young Mirialan was still prostrating herself in front of Ahsoka and Arkee whispered something into her green ear.

Finally, Barriss stirred.

She rolled onto her back and looked up into the grey eyes of Ahsoka's lover.

"P-promised?", she asked, her eyes still blurred by her tears.

"You have my word."

Barriss sniffed and slowly got onto her feet.

"W-what did you tell her?", Ahsoka asked baffled.

The grin on Arkee's lips grew even wider, almost scary.

"I'll help her get a proper punishment."

Ahsoka gawked at Barriss, then loked back at Arkee.

"I _don't_ want her hurt", she repeated slowly.

There was a strange glint in Arkee's eyes as she replied.

"Don't worry, darling, what kind a woman would I be if I hurt my wife's friends?"

Ahsoka blushed, but she wouldn't give in to her shame, this time.

"E-even so", she muttered, "I …"

"We'll let you watch", Arkee promised, still wearing her mischievous grin, "I trust that will put your mind at ease?"

Defeated, Ahsoka nodded.

"It's decided, then."

Perhaps it was her new sensitivity to other people's emotions, but the joy and excitement she felt from Arkee sent shivers down her spine.

"Come, little stupid girl", Arkee said to Barriss, "We'll have to find Crystal, we've got to prepare."

She turned towards Ahsoka again.

"Oh, and you may want to prepare yourself."

"Prepare for what?"

Arkee winked.

"Tonight."

Happily humming, Arkee turned and dragged Barriss with her to look for Crystal

Ahsoka watched them go. Dumbfounded, but also excited.

 _Tonight_ , that could only mean that Arkee felt well enough to …

She bit her lip and let the anticipation arouse her.

Lost in the fantasies of what her … _wife_ would do to her, she just stood there for a while and gazed into the direction Arkee and Barriss had disappeared into.

"Tonight", she mumbled to herself and smiled.

She leapt backwards and landed on her soft bed.

Ahsoka didn't dare to venture outside.

She and Barriss had made the top of the wanted list and their faces were omnipresent in the media. Arkee, however, was only briefly mentioned: _'the dangerous ex-Jedi duo received help from some mysterious pale woman that was shot and presumably killed'_. End of the mention; the rest was about the _'dangerous wayward ex-Padawan Tano'_ and her friend, the _'cruel and mentally-challenged terrorist and fellow ex-Padawan Offee'_. The public was _'advised to keep their distance and to report any and all sightings to the proper authorities'_.

Zor had moved the three females to a room on the top floor the same night and marked all other rooms on that floor as booked. That meant they had a whole floor for themselves but Ahsoka quickly started to understand why Crystal was sick of the hotel ... and _she_ had endured for years.

Ahsoka stared at the ceiling and sighed.

She had never felt so useless in her life. How _did_ Crystal stand it?

Then again, she supposed, it probably was easier when you had never known another life.

She stretched, held the position for a moment, then relaxed her body and remained as she laid. Soon though, she started to lazily roll herself around on the bed.

Her mind wandered to her old master. By now, he must have learned about what she had done. She couldn't help but wonder, would Anakin have approved?

Hm … maybe. He had always been very loyal to the people he liked, she was confident he would at least understand her point of view.

Obi-Wan? No, probably not.

Yoda?

"Yeah, right", she scoffed.

No, the little green preacher most certainly would not approve.

But she didn't want to think about _them_. They were a source of painful memories.

She'd much rather think about something else, something happy, like …

 _Tonight, eh?_

She lifted a pillow with the Force and out of boredom whirled it around for a bit.

What was Arkee planning?

Would she be gentle? Rough?

"You're going to do something horrible to me, again, aren't you?", she mumbled.

 _And you'll love it_ , her lover's voice echoed through her head.

Ahsoka shivered in anticipation.

 _Rough_.

The next question, then, was how much would she be screaming? Would she still be conscious when Arkee was done with her? It wouldn't be the first time they shagged beyond their bodily limitations. But Arkee was hurt. Ahsoka knew Barriss was a good healer but … so soon?

Not that she was complaining, though. Until Arkee was wounded, there hardly had been a day they hadn't … touched each other. Of course Arkee had been joking when she had spoken of going through withdrawal, but Ahsoka found she did indeed yearn for the pale Anzat's touch with a passion she had not allowed herself to feel when she had still been with the Jedi.

Stupid Jedi, stupid rules.

Ahsoka stopped the pillow she was whirling around and put her hands above her head, sticking out her chest towards the ceiling.

She squirmed as the pillow slowly levitated down, always closer to her and imagined she was chained to the bed.

"Master, please!", she begged softly.

The pillow didn't listen. Of course it didn't, she didn't _want_ it to listen, she wanted it to come closer, much closer.

"No!", she whispered to the pillow, "No, please! Please!"

She struggled more strongly against her imaginary bonds but did nothing to stop the pillow. Slowly, it sank lower and lower.

It was close, no more than a couple inches from touching her breasts.

She imagined Arkee's grinning face, her long platinum-golden hair reaching down over the pale shoulders and touching her gently as her crazy lover moved in for the kill.

"Master, don't!", she moaned, lost in her fantasy, "Mercy! Mercy!"

But pillows weren't known to show mercy.

She quivered when the soft thing brushed against her chest, touching her through her clothes, then she strongly pushed the pillow down onto herself.

"Master!", she exclaimed again, then hugged the pillow and laughed as she rolled around on the bed.

She stopped when her head slid over the mattress' edge and the room suddenly-turned upside-down.

So silly, she felt _so_ silly ... and she didn't care.

The woman she had grown to love, and whom she had thought lost, lived.

Her friend who should have been executed lived, the traitor she had feared hated her, didn't.

And she's made a new, very sweet blue friend.

How could she possibly remain serious when her heart leapt with joy?

Ahsoka closed her eyes and smiled. She was happy, very, very happy, and she hadn't felt so relaxed in months.

Things had looked pretty bleak when she had walked away from the Jedi, but now, having experienced, learned what she had, she couldn't be happier to have escaped their cruel clutches.

The young Togruta kicked her legs up and flipped over the mattress' edge, landing on her feet.

She was still holding the pillow and looked at it.

What _was_ her crazy lover, her passionate … _wife_ going to do to her?

A bit woefully, she threw the pillow back to its original place. She didn't want to touch herself, she wanted to _be_ touched, she wanted to be _truly_ helpless before the white woman that had first taught her the joy in being so; pretending just didn't cut it for her anymore.

She shivered in anticipation.

Arkee had told her to prepare … well, she was ready, now, and night couldn't come fast enough.

Ahsoka jumped high, spreadeagled herself and landed face down and with a loud thump on the soft bed. She found the pillow she had thrown onto the bed just a moment ago and snuggled into it.

She'd try to doze a bit. Night came faster, that way, and as there wasn't anything to do anyway, she'd rather replenish her energy and conserve it to better endure the murderous pleasure Arkee was sure to torment her with.

The orange teen smiled again.

* * *

"Rise and shine, darling."

A gentle kiss on her cheek woke her.

"Arkee ..", she mumbled and rolled onto her back.

She reached out with her hand to touch the gentle white face hovering above her.

Never hesitating a moment, Arkee leaned down and kissed the sleep-drugged Togruti teen on the lips.

"What time is it?"

"Late enough to qualify as night."

Ahsoka blushed.

"You knew?"

Her Anzati lover smirked.

"Of course. I hope you're ready."

Ahsoka felt a fresh quiver go through her body, she was fully awake, now.

"Gods, yes."

She had half-expected Arkee to rip the clothes of her orange body and take her right then and there. She had certainly hoped she would.

But she didn't.

"Come", she instead said as she straightened up, "It's all prepared."

A bit confused, Ahsoka got to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

"Just a bit larger a room."

"What's there?"

Arkee didn't say anything and just grinned secretively.

She took Ahsoka's hand, pulled her away from the bed and spun her into her arms.

There, hugging her from behind, she kissed Ahsoka on her montrals.

"You'll see", she promised.

Arkee slid her hands up and cupped Ahsoka's breasts.

"You'll see", she repeated.

The nimble white fingers started to move and rolled over Ahsoka's chest. Before long, Ahsoka could feel her nipples get hard and stick out, rub against the soft fabric of the bra she was wearing, greatly accentuating how pleasurable Arkee's touch felt.

She bit her lip.

"S-shouldn't we go … _there_ first?"

Ahsoka gasped when her lover gently pinched the sensitive buds on her breasts.

"I said _we_ are going there. I said nothing about our clothes."

A soft pressure on the side of her head invited her to turn her head and she did.

She didn't get to say anything as the next thing she knew, she was already kissing the crazy Anzat.

Arkee's warm hands slid down and under her shirt, and pushing against the soft orange skin, they slid back up Ahsoka's belly. Slowly, tenderly, but never stopping for a moment.

"You … you want me to walk … naked … in the corridor?", Ahsoka breathed when their lips parted.

"M-hm", her crazy Master purred, "Something wrong with that?"

"I … I'll die of embarrassment!", Ahsoka complained.

Still, she obediently raised her arms to allow Arkee to pull the shirt over her head.

Arkee threw the shirt away, then went for Ahsoka's breasts, again.

"Nobody on this floor", she whispered as she slid her fingers underneath Ahsoka's bra, "Besides … do you remember how excited you were when you imagined Crystal was watching you?"

Ahsoka didn't even try to deny it. Her heart was hammering in response to the touches she had so missed and although the secrecy with which Arkee guarded whatever she had in store for her worried her, she wasn't afraid. Quite on the contrary, she really _was_ excited. Part of her _wanted_ to take the risk of being seen.

The young Togruta reached up and behind her, gently touching the grinning pale face of the woman that made her feel that way..

"D-Do with me as you please, Master", she teased, "But please … be gentle."

Her Master rewarded her obedience with a kiss on her lekku.

"Oh, I'll be."

Another kiss.

Arkee rolled Ahsoka's nipples with her fingers and Ahsoka noticed she had lost her bra some time ago and it was now lying to her feet.

"Because you asked so nicely, I'll be very, _very_ gentle", Arkee promised, " _But_ ..."

Her white lover waited a moment to let the _but_ sink in.

"… I'll be rough enough to give you lots and lots and lots of searing hot pleasure."

The devious Anzat slowly slid down to her knees, kissing Ahsoka's exposed back in the process.

Hugging Ahsoka at the waist, she opened her pants and slowly tugged them down.

Ahsoka just stood there and let her.

"You're not resisting?"

"No, Master", Ahsoka breathed. Her heart was beating so strongly it almost hurt but she forced herself to keep her body still, waiting, "I couldn't resist you if I tried."

Her pants slowly crawled over her butt and fell to the ground.

"You will try", Arkee simply stated, "You will know it's useless, you will know it's futile, but you will try nonetheless. You will _beg_ for me to stop."

Ahsoka swallowed when she felt the long white fingers grasp her panties and begin to pull them down.

They must have done the Master-Slave play a hundred times, already, so she knew that had been no idle threat. Her body happily tingled, as if it remembered the last time she went near-mad with pleasure.

"And … and will you stop when I beg you?", she asked nervously.

Arkee waited until the slightly damp panties had left the orange crotch and laid on the ground before giving Ahsoka the answer she had been hoping for:

"I will not."

The ancient Anzat stood up and looked at the now naked Togruti girl and sighed.

"You look marvellous, darling", she said, "Very cute."

 _Click!_

A bit surprised, Ahsoka brought her hand to her throat and felt the cool metal there.

On the inside, the small choker her lover had just put on her neck felt warm and soft, coated with some kind of fur, on the outside, however, her new accessory felt cold and smooth.

"What's this?"

"A gift."

Arkee kissed Ahsoka's cheek.

"With love from Crystal and me. I hope it's comfortable."

Ahsoka carefully moved her head up and down, left and right. The choker restricted none of her movements.

"Here."

She took the small hand mirror Arkee passed her and looked at herself.

It didn't look bad at all.

The young Togruta moved her head to look at the necklace at different angles.

Not bad at all.

The cool silver contrasted beautifully with her orange skin and there was a single small red stone embedded into it on the front.

She turned and looked at Arkee.

"It's lovely, thank you. What have I done to deserve it?"

"In your own words: You cheated on me with her."

Arkee gave her a grin that made her heart skip a beat.

 _Just you wait until I regain the strength in my hips_ , she remembered Arkee's words, _and I'll make sure to find a suitable … punishment for a naughty girl like you_.

"T-this is no ordinary necklace, is it?"

"No."

Ahsoka ran her finger along the smooth metal, again, and found no latch or gap, nothing that would tell her how to open it … nothing that indicated it _could_ be opened at all.

Arkee watched her with a smirk on her lips and a satisfied glint in her eyes.

She dropped the hand again.

 _A suitable punishment for a naughty girl like me, eh?_

Adrenaline surged through her, made her heart beat fast and violently, she was excited – in more ways than one.

"Any point in asking what it does?"

"Hm … maybe it does nothing?", Arkee suggested with an innocent – too innocent – face, "Perhaps I just want to keep you guessing?"

The faked innocence gave way to a very mischievous grin.

"Or perhaps you'll find out _very_ soon."

A bit nervous, Ahsoka touched the cold metal again.

"Don't look so worried, darling, I promised the stupid one I wouldn't hurt you."

"I … I wasn't..."

Ahsoka quickly moved her hand back down.

"I know that!"

 _I'll punish her with lots and lots of pleasure._

She bit her lip again and looked at her grinning lover, blushed and averted her eyes.

"I know that", she mumbled.

Her white lover stepped closer and put a hand below her chin.

Arkee gently forced her head up until Ahsoka was gazing into her gentle silver eyes.

She held the position for a moment, then kissed the young Togruta.

"Undress me", she demanded.

"What?"

"Undress me", she repeated, then kissed Ahsoka again before she could answer.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

Carefully, she felt her way down to the seam of Arkee's shirt. She grasped it, then gently moved her hands up, occasionally brushing against the white Anzat's warm skin – a soft touch, a promise for more.

Her shirt removed, Arkee's bra was next – or would have been, if she had worn one.

Instead, the soft white flesh was already pushing against her.

"No bra, today?"

She undid Arkee's pants and kissed her lover's tits as she sank to her knees, then kissed the white belly as she pulled the pants down.

Arkee put a hand on the young Togruta's head and gently stroke her montrals.

"Hm … didn't find one I liked."

Ahsoka carefully pulled down the white panties Arkee was wearing, then removed her socks before standing back up.

So here, they were, naked, ogling each other like idiots … like _horny_ idiots.

"Shall we?", Arkee asked, pointing to the door.

"You … you really were serious, weren't you?"

Her crazy lover smirked.

"Did you doubt it?"

Arkee opened the door and walked outside.

Slowly, Ahsoka followed.

 _There is nobody on this floor_ , she assured herself, _nobody will see you, Ahsoka._

She sighed.

Still, she couldn't help feeling nervous.

"Right here, darling."

"Right?"

Arkee went into the small chamber and Ahsoka followed.

"Wait … this is ..."

The door closed before she could react and the next moment, they were already moving down.

"We're in a lift!"

"Oh my, how could this have happened?", Arkee asked hyperbolically innocently and grinned broadly.

Ahsoka just gawked at her mad lover.

 _Crazy!_

"Come here."

Arkee grabbed her stunned Togruti victim and pulled her close, turned her so she was facing the lift door and hugged her tightly.

"Do you know what'll happen to us if that door opens and we're seen?"

Arkee kissed the dumbfounded Togruta on the lekku.

Her left hand went for the small orange breast, her right one dived into the orange lap.

"I … I don't know", Ahsoka mumbled back.

Her nervousness made it impossible to focus on anything. Her heart thumped in her throat and she felt dizzy from all the adrenaline.

"I guess … I'll die of embarrassment and then we'll be arrested for public indecency before being executed for terrorism."

Her mad lover chuckled.

"Arrested?"

Ahsoka moaned when the white woman behind her gently brushed a finger over her hard clit.

"We're in the Undercity. Down here, we won't get arrested", Arkee whispered, then kissed Ahsoka again, "We'll get raped. Both of us."

She gently squeezed Ahsoka's breast as she kissed her again.

"Th-the force...", Ahsoka mumbled.

"Uh-huh. The Force will help us escape them once, or twice, but down here, _everybody_ wants to rape an innocent little orange Togruti girl."

"E-everybody?"

"M-hm. But you're _mine_ , they can't have you."

Another hot kiss hazed Ahsoka's mind further.

"So they'll take me down first."

Ahsoka moaned again in response to Arkee's touches.

"I'm powerful, but they are many. They _will_ overpower me. And while I'm pressed against the walls of this shitty lift, a cock in my cunt, many hungry cocks more waiting their turn, somebody will grab you and ..."

 _Ding!_

Ahsoka very nearly had a heart attack when the small bell announced they had reached their destination floor. Slowly, but still way too fast, the automatic doors opened. The floor behind them was brightly lit and – Force be praised – empty.

"Aw, nobody there", Arkee teased, "Guess we're in luck."

"Yeah", Ahsoka breathed, she couldn't say anything more, she had to concentrate on breathing.

"Well, don't just stand around, get moving, darling."

Arkee pushed her out into the corridor.

"Just a bit farther", she promised.

"You … that was awfully precise", she remarked, still a bit out of breath.

The mad white woman smiled.

"I practised."

She didn't know if Arkee was serious about that, but she wouldn't put it beneath her.

"Come on, darling, we're still very much exposed. If any of these doors opens ..."

Ahsoka quickly followed Arkee. One near-death experience was enough, for today, she would very much like to avoid another.

Their walk through the corridor was mercifully short and they soon entered a large room, completely in red, more dimly lit than the corridor outside and with a small low stage in front of many comfortable-looking soft chairs.

She sighed in relief when Arkee closed the door behind them.

"Well, here we are, darling. Did you enjoy our walk?"

 _Yes._

She didn't say that, though, out of fear it would make her mad lover want to repeat the experience. Instead, she replied:

"It was … interesting."

Arkee grinned as if she knew better but said nothing.

"So ...", Ahsoka changed the topic and looked around, "… why here?"

Arkee walked to the front row and sat down in one of the soft chairs.

"Join me, darling."

Curious, Ahsoka obeyed.

"Uh-uh, darling", Arkee complained when she wanted to sit down next to her, "Your place is here."

She patted her lap and hesitantly, Ahsoka sat down on her teacher and leaned back, allowing Arkee to gently embrace her and – as she soon noticed – providing her lover an easy way to touch her.

"Are you comfortable, darling?", Arkee asked as she started to gently move her hand over Ahsoka's breast in slow, circular movements.

"Y-yes, I – hhh!"

She gasped when she felt the white Anzat's finger in her crotch, carefully tickle her most sensitive spot.

"Mh, I hope you are", Arkee whispered.

She kissed Ahsoka on the lekku, then raised her voice.

"We're ready", she declared.

It took a moment, but soon, the room grew even dimmer – except for the stage that in fact was lighted a bit more – and a slow, exotic music filled the room.

"Tell me, darling", Arkee demanded, "You were lovers once, you and the green one, yes?"

"Barriss? Yeah, before she … before we met. But what – "

Arkee kissed the shivering Togruti teen as she started to slowly move her fingers in and out of her victim's crotch.

"You still fantasise about her, from time to time?"

"What?"

"Do you still dream about her firm green breasts? Her invitingly wet crotch? Her soft touch?"

Arkee rubbed her head against Ahsoka's lekku and the young Togruta closed her eyes.

"No", she replied, "My latest dreams of her were nightmares, filled with her execution."

"Hm … Tonight, you will have a different dream about her."

The white fingers in her crotch had only touched her lightly, so far, but now they grew bolder and one pressed firmly against Ahsoka's clit. Then without warning, it sped up, moved up and down over the sensitive bud in the rhythm of the exotic music that surrounded them.

Ahsoka twitched, but the other hand on her chest pulled her backwards. She was more lying than sitting on her lover and Arkee knew damn well how to use that to her advantage. She couldn't get up if she had wanted to… but that was alright, she didn't want to get up anyway.

"Wha – what makes you … say that?", the aroused Togruti teen mumbled.

She moaned when Arkee gently nibbled on her lekku. Her lover didn't bother to answer. Instead, she fully concentrated on molesting the young Togruta, obviously taking pleasure in the soft twitches and quivers she could torture out of the orange girl.

Something moved on the edge of the stage and moments later, the answer – slowly, rhythmically – danced out onto the stage.

The young green girl had much shorter hair than Crystal but her bright blush was challenging the blue female's in intensity.

Despite the obvious shame she felt over her performance, she moved her hips with grace and in perfect sync with the exotic background music. Her arms were extended above her head, waving a rhythmic pattern. The pose greatly accentuated her exposed belly and her large but firm breasts that were clearly visible through the semi-transparent lavender bra she was wearing.

An equally translucent short lavender skirt wrapped around the fragile green figure at her waist but did nothing to hide the naked body underneath it.

Long bands – apparently made from the same stuff the bra and skirt were – were tied to the girl's wrists and ankles and twirled elegantly around the spinning female.

But ...

"B-Barriss?!"

"Oh yes", Arkee whispered and pushed a finger into the opening of Ahsoka's lust cave.

"Nh!"

Ahsoka twitched but Arkee held her firmly.

"Please look at her, she's doing this _just_ for you."

Oh, she was looking, and how! Gawking, even.

She had seen Barriss dance before, but never like this. The music, the dance, both were unfamiliar to her, and the thought that Barriss would ever willingly put on _that_ kind of attire was absurd, it went against everything she knew of proper Mirialan behaviour.

"Just look at her", Arkee whispered, "Relax, enjoy the view. Let me worry about the rest."

Her white lover caught her nipple in-between two of her long fingers and gently squeezed it repeatedly as she massaged Ahsoka's tit.

The other hand brushed against her clit, carefully matching the rhythm of the music as two fingers pushed deep into her then slowly slid out, only to be pushed back in with the next beat.

"Force ...", Ahsoka moaned, then tried to concentrate – she failed.

"Arkee … wha – hhnh – wha's happening?"

"Look at her", Arkee breathed, ignoring the question.

Ahsoka obeyed.

Barriss' top was very loose and did nothing to keep the green breasts in place. The enviously large tits bounced left and right, up and down in response to her friend's movements.

Ahsoka's eyes followed the dark nipples up and down for a while, then wandered down over the exposed green skin to the rhythmically rocking hip.

It was beautiful. _She_ was beautiful.

Ahsoka imagined herself beneath Barriss, held in place by Arkee while the bobbing green crotch brushed against her own in sync with the music.

"Ah ..."

She moaned in response to Arkee's fingers in her snatch. Her lover's touches made it very easy to imagine such a thing and by the force, she was wet, so wet and … horny.

"Mmmh …. Arkee … what, what … nnn-nh…"

"Shhh, darling, questions come later."

The white Anzat kissed the moaning orange girl in her arms.

"Look at her, she practised the entire day, just for you."

Barriss sank down to her knees and leaned back, rocking her hips to and fro in very suggestive movements, seemingly grinding herself against Ahsoka down in the audience.

Kneeling spread her legs, granting full sight on her nether regions behind the lavender veil and Ahsoka swallowed.

The green girl on the stage continued the movements with her hips but brought her hands to her breasts, as if to touch herself, and tilted her head back. Ahsoka could feel her breath grow deeper.

This was crazy.

She moaned.

Crazy! Barriss was doing an exquisitely naughty dance and she was being masturbated to it. And even more crazy … she liked it.

As if sensing her thoughts, the fingers in her lap sped up further.

She gasped at the new pace, bit her lips until she couldn't take it anymore, then moaned again, loud and passionately.

She was naked, lying on a naked woman … in front of Barriss.

She was being masturbated … in front of Barriss.

She was about to cum … in front of Barriss.

She should have been ashamed, she should have been resisting, but all she felt was an abundance of passion and a strong desire to just let it happen.

Another of Arkee's hot kisses seared through her brain. She felt her lover's wet tongue gently lapping at her lekku … and she felt the relentless fingers in her crotch exploring the depths of her caverns as the hand attached to them pressed against her clit to rub it hard and thoroughly.

"Crazy … Anzat!", she snapped, then gasped again.

Arkee had slightly bent her fingers and was now pressing against her upper vaginal walls, slightly vibrating the tips of her murder instruments.

"Hnnh! By the … eh!"

The vibration in the fingertips pressing against her grew stronger and stronger.

"Gods!", Ahsoka wailed, "Whh .. haah!"

The music grew faster, too. Barriss was wildly bouncing up and down – as were her breasts – and she could almost feel the soft green flesh push against her skin.

Ahsoka started quivering.

"Ohhh, if you … if you do that again ..."

Arkee stopped vibrating her fingers and instead resumed sliding them in and out of Ahsoka's nether regions, but much more quickly than before.

"Nhh … ohh … Arkee! I'm … I can't …"

"Look at her, darling", her lover simply said, and she did.

Barriss was lying on her back, now, writhing her body as she kept moving her hips up and down.

"Hhhhahh … hhah … I … yeeh!"

Ahsoka's mind went blank and she shuddered as her orgasm wrecked her.

Arkee kissed her until she opened her eyes again.

The young Togruta in her arms was heavily breathing and the green female on the stage slowly dancing out of view.

"Hm … you liked that."

It was a statement, not a question, and Ahsoka couldn't deny it.

Still …

"What have you done to her?"

Arkee grinned.

"I merely talked to her, suggested some ideas for her punishment."

"B-Barriss agreed to this?"

She found that hard to believe. After all, when they had still been padawans to the Jedi Order, she had tried time and again to get Barriss to wear something less … _suffocating_ , as Crystal had put it.

"Not at first", Arkee admitted, "But she _does_ love you and when I explained our relationship and started to bring you into my arguments, she suddenly grew very eager to be punished in this particular way."

"You … you manipulated her?!"

"Tsk, tsk, such a bad word. I merely took advantage of her jealousy and guilt to help her reach the conclusion I wanted her to arrive at."

"I heard that!"

The flustered green female was slowly walking towards them. Part of her seemed to want to run away but she bravely kept walking.

Barriss was still wearing the flimsy outfit she had been wearing during her … _performance_ , and up close, she looked even sexier in it.

Ahsoka could clearly see how hard her friend's dark nipples were as they pushed against the translucent top. And though the green girl was heavily blushing, that only added to her charm. She quickly glanced at Ahsoka's chest and crotch, noticing the pale hands that were still there.

Ahsoka blushed and thought about covering herself, but Arkee's hold on her didn't let her.

"Am I wrong?", Arkee asked calmly.

Barriss averted her eyes.

"No", she mumbled almost inaudibly.

Arkee chuckled.

"Don't worry, Ahsoka was _very_ pleased with your dance."

The green girl's eyes lit up.

"R-really?"

The white Anzat affectionately squeezed Ahsoka's breast.

" _Very_. She hopped around very excitedly."

"Arkee!"

Her chuckling lover tried to stand up and Ahsoka quickly got to her feet to allow her to.

"Alright, darling, your friend has been punished as per her request. Will you forgive her?"

Ahsoka hugged the shivering green female and kissed her on the neck.

"I already have. There is nothing more to forgive."

Something wet touched her shoulder. Was Barriss … crying?

A sob confirmed it. But finally, her green friend allowed the hug and hugged her back.

It was bizarre, being cried at while she was naked, but she snuggled her head into Barriss' and closed her eyes until this flood ebbed.

"Thank you", Barriss sniffed eventually, "Thank you."

"You're naughty, green one", Arkee remarked, "That's the second time, today, you've made her wet."

They chuckled and ended the embrace.

"Uhm, by the way", Barriss asked, "You … is she really … er … are you ..."

Ahsoka blushed and looked at the white woman standing at her side then back at Barriss. It was still awkward to say it, so she took a deep breath.

"She … she is. She's my ... _wife_ … amongst other things."

There was a brief silence as they both stared at the ground.

Arkee used it to walk up to Barriss and put a hand under her chin, gently forcing her head up.

"Don't worry, green one", she said, then kissed the surprised Mirialan teen on the cheek, "She's mine, but she's welcome to get intimate with whomever she's comfortable with."

"P-polygamy's outlawed", Barriss mumbled confusedly.

Arkee smirked.

"It won't be polygamy. She'd simply be cheating on me."

Ahsoka felt the heat rush to her face and she looked away to the ground.

Barriss, on the other hand, didn't avert her eyes. She just gawked at the white Anzat in disbelief.

"And you're fine with that?"

"Of course I'm not", Arkee answered with a broad grin, "I'm a very _jealous_ woman, so I'll _punish_ her if I find out. And I _will_ find out."

She winked at Barriss, then turned to Ahsoka.

"Which reminds me, I still owe you a punishment for your cheating on me with Crystal. Are you prepared to face the consequences?"

Ahsoka bit her lip and looked deep into Arkee's eyes.

"Yes, Master."

" _Master_?"

Barriss tilted her head in question.

"Oh yeah, we should probably tell you."

Arkee pointed at Ahsoka.

"She may scream for help, beg for me to stop or for you to save her. Don't listen. It's all part of the game."

Barriss looked at Ahsoka, who was blushing but nodded, then back at the devious white Anzat.

"I … I understand."

Arkee grinned.

"Take your seat, green one, show's starting shortly."

Arkee took Ahsoka by the hand and led her behind the curtains.

There, she embraced her from behind and purred.

"Hmm … are you excited to be punished, little one? You'll go out onto the stage with me and I will make you scream in front of the green one. Your friend will watch as you cum your brains out – over and over again."

She kissed the shivering Togruta's orange neck.

"Do you think she'll masturbate to you as you slowly lose your mind?"

Another kiss and an affectionate squeeze.

More than the bodily contact, though, Arkee's words got to her.

She couldn't help imagining lying on the stage, desperately screaming for help while her friend did nothing but rub herself as she watched.

So lost was she in her thoughts, she didn't even notice how Arkee slowly led her up the couple of steps that brought them onto the platform, she just suddenly found herself standing on the stage, being stared at by Barriss and fondled by Arkee.

Arkee sucked then carefully nibbled on Ahsoka's lekku. Her hands were already on her victim's breast and in her crotch, the latter producing wet sounds as the orange girl squirmed.

The white Anzat forced her to her knees and Ahsoka happily complied.

Kneeling spread her legs, allowing her Master easier access to the depths of her overflowing nether regions …. and her friend a better view on her crotch.

"Stay like that for a moment, darling", Arkee commanded, "Don't move, don't turn around, just let her look at you."

Her lover let go of her and retreated, leaving the horny Togruti teen kneeling on the stage.

Ahsoka tried her best to obey her Master but could do nothing to stop the quiver that took hold of her body.

The stage was brightly lit, especially in comparison to the rest of the room. That made it near- impossible to see the rows farther away from the stage, but Barriss had a front row seat, there was no hiding from her big, merciless eyes and the lust … by the force, the lust she felt from her friend, her own lust, Arkee's and … somebody else's?

She didn't have time to think about what she was feeling for the next moment, Arkee was kneeling down behind her and hugged her again. Ahsoka twitched in surprise.

"Miss me?"

Ahsoka felt something hard and slippery between her legs.

Looking down, she noticed Arkee had put on Crystal's … _wedding gift,_ the massive blue strap-on, very generously lubed, and gliding back and forth with slow but long and strong movements.

She bit her lips. The last time Arkee had used it on her, she had been reduced to a weakly twitching heap of orange meat and her body had continued to feel the toy long after they had stored it away.

"You've been a very naughty girl", Arkee purred and gently slammed her hips into Ahsoka's butt, gliding the full length of the dildo through her orange victim's crotch.

Gods, she had forgotten how _long_ the damn thing was! Her body hadn't though, it was happily tingling in anticipation.

Arkee started fondling her breast, softly squeezing her nipples while she kissed her on her lekku.

"Do you accept your punishment, darling?"

Ahsoka was breathing heavily.

"Yes!", she gasped, "Do with me as you please, Master!"

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Her Master's pale hands moved from her breast to her back and slowly bent her forwards, down. Ahsoka let her. She first wanted to support herself with her hands but Arkee grabbed her at the neck and pushed her further and further down until the cold wooden stage pressed into her chest and against her cheek.

Her ass raised thus, she waited obediently.

"Oh, you should see your friend's face", Arkee commented, "She's jealous, but she _really_ wants to see you penetrated by me."

"B-Barriss?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened. She had been a bit lost in thoughts, and – for a moment – completely forgotten they were being watched.

She twisted her head – as good as being pressed to the ground allowed – and caught a glimpse of the green female looking at her with big, expectant eyes.

Barriss was fidgeting, obviously aroused, but refused to avert her eyes.

 _Gods …_

Ahsoka shivered. When this was all over, she'd probably lie down and die out of shame. For now, though, she revelled in the horny gazes she felt on her skin.

Arkee carefully moved their toy up and down in front of the entrance to Ahsoka's love grotto.

"It's not polite to make her wait, is it?"

Ahsoka's pulse quickened.

"N-no, it's not ..."

She glanced up at Barriss. Something cold and slimy flowed through her buttocks and dripped to the ground, then she felt the pressure on ... her ass?!

"Wait, that's – "

The young Togruti teen gasped when the hard blue dildo pushed through her sphincter.

"No, wait! Don't! That – stop pushing it deeper!"

She gritted her teeth as the weird feeling inched further up her back. It didn't hurt – the abundance of lube made sure of that – but it felt … weird.

"I said stop! St-nh!"

Her body twitched unexpectedly. Apparently, _weird_ also meant _pleasurable_ , when it was invoked at a certain depth.

She tried to struggle, but moving only made the slippery toy slide into her more quickly. Her mouth fell open in a breathless gasp and she scratched at the floor with her fingernails, but she couldn't stop Arkee from pushing deeper and there was still half a dildo to go.

"Listen to me!"

Ahsoka tried to move forwards, away, but Arkee held her firmly and the blue toy sank deeper and deeper and deeper.

The young Togruta groaned. She didn't have any experience with her backdoor, but the strange feeling made her incredibly wet; her empty pussy squelched in frustration whenever she moved and the strange pleasure was subtly asking her if she _really_ didn't want to find out how it would feel if … no, she couldn't …

" _Do with me as you please, Master_ ", Arkee whispered.

"I didn't mea – nh!"

"Too late, darling."

With a gentle but quicker push, Arkee buried the last inch of the dildo in Ahsoka's ass.

"Yeeeh!"

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ahsoka was breathing heavily. The strangely arousing feeling in her butt made it impossible to think straight… made it impossible to think, straight or otherwise.

"Lie down, darling."

Arkee pushed her hips further forward and loosened her grip on Ahsoka, pushing the orange ass down until her victim was firmly pressed against the wooden floor.

Strong white hands grabbed her at the shoulder and kept her firmly in place.

"Force!", Ahsoka groaned, "Pull …. pull it out … please!"

"But of course…"

Excruciatingly slow, the blue spike retreated. Just when she was about to sigh in relief, it reversed directions and pushed back into her – faster than before, although still slow.

"… how else am I going to move?"

Ahsoka gasped when the full length of the toy was again buried inside her. The cruel white hips pulled back again, dragging the blue spike out of her, only to push it back in the next moment.

A hot passionate moan escaped her. The lewd sound enticed her Anzati lover into moving her hips more quickly, more strongly, and although she gritted her teeth in an attempt to withstand the assault, she was soon wailing in pleasure beneath the mercilessly invading rod.

"See? This isn't so bad, is it?"

Heavily breathing, Ahsoka opened her mouth to reply, but the next strong push replaced her words with a single weak moan.

"Ah, that's a honest girl."

Arkee _'rewarded'_ her honesty with an irregular pattern of strong thrust.

"W-why … ah!"

Arkee carefully laid down on her orange victim and hugged her. She kissed the shaking Togruta on the montrals.

"Looks like your friend likes the show", she whispered, completely ignoring the question.

Ahsoka's heart skipped a beat. She raised her head a bit and looked at Barriss. The green female was staring at them with brightly glowing eyes, a hand in her crotch and a blush on her cheeks as she was fidgeting, trying to figure out if she should stroke herself or if such behaviour was unacceptable for –

Arkee pushed her hips strongly down and made Ahsoka moan towards Barriss. That did it and the green female started moving her hand in subtle, hesitant strokes.

Still hugging her tightly, Arkee gave Ahsoka a few more thrusts, then rolled onto her back, pulling the orange girl up until she was lying on top of her white Anzati lover. Helplessly flailing as Arkee's gentle hands kept her in place, she tilted her head up and moaned as the rocking white hips proved to her that just because she was on top, now, that didn't mean she had any way of escaping.

"Hrrrr, just look at how wet you are, darling", Arkee growled before she kissed Ahsoka's lekku again. She detached one hand from Ahsoka's breast – releasing the very hard ochre nipple – and moved it down to Ahsoka's crotch against which it brushed with a very audible squelch.

It was true. Ahsoka doubted the toy in her butt could drive her over the edge on its own – though, of course, that would have been an interesting experience in itself – but it aroused her greatly, more so, actually, than she felt comfortable with admitting. And if Arkee now also teased her front …

No sooner had she finished the thought than a nimble white finger gently brushed against her clit. She jerked involuntarily, moving the spike in her butt quickly – a movement that drove the breath out of her and made her gasp.

"Mmmh, I think she likes it", Arkee purred as she kissed the young girl again, "Look! Look how _wet_ she is, Crystal, how her lewd body begs for you to relieve her."

 _Crystal?!_

A naked timid girl hesitantly walked into Ahsoka's view. That was Crystal, alright, the blue skin already was a strong implication, but these sparkling pupil-less red eyes that burned into Ahsoka's nude body were a dead give-away.

To Ahsoka's horror, she noticed her blue friend was wearing the same kind of harness Arkee was, with an equally massive strap-on emerging from her crotch.

Crystal knelt down and with quivering hands, spread Ahsoka's legs, leaving no doubt about what she was about to do, about what Arkee had planned.

Ahsoka's heart was beating quickly.

 _Both?!_

She fidgeted and squirmed – in vain. Her upper body was held tightly by the devious white woman beneath her and moving her lower body only moved the blue spike already buried in her butt, sending cruel shocks of pleasure though her.

Pinned down like that, she closed her legs and pressed them firmly against each other.

That made her feel Arkee's penetration much more intensely, but she gritted her teeth and suppressed a moan.

"What are you doing, darling?"

Ahsoka immediately felt the pressure on the inner side of her legs, trying to force her legs back open, and although she concentrated as much as she could, given the situation, she was losing; slowly, her knees parted.

"That's right", Arkee breathed, "Spread nice and wide and let her ram that beast all the way up to your cervix … can you feel her desire to ravage you? Do you see the scary glint in her red eyes?"

Still trying to stop her legs from spreading, she looked at Crystal. Her blue friend was breathing heavily, her red eyes fixed on Ahsoka's crotch, her gaze that of a hungry predator ready to pounce on its prey.

Ahsoka shivered.

"W-what have you done to her?"

"Tsk, really darling, why do you _always_ assume I'm doing things to people? She's helping me willingly and of her own accord."

"Why..?"

She could feel Arkee grin behind her.

"Why, jealousy, of course. When she learned of what Barriss was going to do for you, she practically _begged_ me to give her a role too. How could I turn her down?"

She kissed Ahsoka on the lekku once again.

"Isn't that right, Crystal?"

Crystal averted her eyes and shyly nodded.

"There you have it, darling. Ready?"

"N-No … "

Despite her words, her heart jumped up and down her throat, eagerly anticipating their disregarding her objections.

Crystal positioned the strap-on she was wearing just at the entrance to Ahsoka's naughty depths, then leaned forwards and grabbed the helpless orange girl at the hips.

"Crystal, dnh- "

To her body's delight, Crystal didn't even wait for her to finish the sentence and rammed the full length of the second dildo into her. The sudden attack momentarily robbed Ahsoka of her breath, then she moaned loudly when her body understood what had just happened to her and she started shaking.

She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, throw a witty remark at her tormentors, but she never got the chance.

Arkee started rocking her hips. Slowly, but decisively. And doing her best to match the rhythm, Crystal leaned forwards over the stunned Togruta and moved her own hips.

"Nnnnh – ahh …."

Ahsoka's eyes rolled up, unfocussed, and she groaned softly with a stupid grin on her face.

She could feel Arkee's fingers playing with her nipples, the wet tongue of her lover as she was kissed on her lekku, and the hot, fierce breaths of her Chiss friend on her neck, all the while having the two unforgiving strap-ons push deep, deep into her, then pull back for the next thrust, and the next, and the next, and the next ...

"Hhhaah ...", she half moaned, half sighed.

"Ooh, she likes it, Crystal", she heard her lover's voice through a haze of pleasure, "Don't you, darling?".

"Yeah ...", Ahsoka confessed with another moan.

Sandwiched and pinned the way she was, there was _no_ way she could move anything but her arms, and even they were heavy, uselessly falling back to the floor. She was completely at the mercy of the two females and she _loved_ it.

Again, Arkee's soft lips pushed against her lekku in a gentle kiss.

"Go on, darling, she wants a kiss too."

Breathing heavily, Ahsoka forced herself to focus. Things started to reappear in front of her – although still a bit blurred – and she could now see her lover's blushing blue accomplice. She looked into Crystal's expectant red eyes and with considerable effort pushed her heavy arms off the floor and extended them upwards, inviting her friend into an embrace.

Crystal didn't hesitate a moment, she leaned down and let the weak orange arms wrap around her, pull her further down. The next thing Ahsoka knew, the soft blue lips were already intertwined with her own.

Arkee started rocking her hips more strongly, making the young Togruta moan into her kiss with Crystal. Crystal, too, started pushing into her orange friend in a faster rhythm, and soon, they were forced to let their lips part.

"Hhhhh", Ahsoka breathed forcefully.

She clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth.

Her useless hand found Arkee's head and she gently caressed the silky-haired Anzat as her back arched slightly to allow the two blue spikes to penetrate her more deeply.

Crystal's jealous lips found her throat and affectionately licked her there as good as she could while thrusting her hips.

Ahsoka opened her eyes but couldn't focus them. Everything was blurred, the dark red was probably the room, the blue blur above her must be Crystal. Something long and thin gently forced itself in-between her sharp teeth, and moments later, her loud, passionate moans filled the air.

"Thash dansheroush!", she complained.

"Only if you bite me."

Arkee carefully nibbled on Ahsoka's lekku before kissing her.

"You're not going to bite me, are you?"

Another finger slid into her mouth and they caught Ahsoka's tongue in-between them.

N-n ... oh!"

Ahsoka sighed.

Keeping her mouth open did more than just allow her moans to escape unhindered. Hearing her own voice, feeling the force with which her breaths came and went, being aware of her heaving chest … it aroused her greatly.

After a while, the fingers retreated and slid back down to her nipples, but she kept her mouth open and moaned.

She was close, she was so very, very close.

Any moment now …

Ahsoka gasped.

Any moment now, she could feel it.

"Hhhhahh! Hhhhah! Hh-hhh-hhhh– "

Her body started shaking. Now ... now!

"Hâsk!"

Something flashed red before her eyes. She hadn't seen what and she didn't understand the word Arkee had uttered, but she didn't care, she hardly even noticed how the choker she was wearing very briefly vibrated. All her thoughts – if they could be called that – were about the orgasm she was about to have. Just a last push … she just needed one more push ...

"Ah! Hhhh!"

She inhaled sharply and gritted her teeth as she let her tired eyes roll up.

Crystal kept slamming her hips into Ahsoka's nether regions with a lot of force, pushing the blue dildo up her orange victim's lust cave over and over again.

One more … just one more …

"Ghah!"

And her ass!

Ahsoka moaned loudly.

She had always thought, being fucked in the ass could only feel good in cheap erotic stories, unrealistic fiction written for the amusement of its horny readers. Arkee's vigorous movements taught her different.

"Yeeh!"

Very, _very_ different.

Her body had never stopped shaking, but every time her Anzati lover buried that dildo in her ass, her legs twitched backwards and her belly upwards.

Ahsoka blindly reached up and behind her were her hand found the soft light-golden hair. Half stroking Arkee, half holding on to her, Ahsoka rubbed her head against the white woman's. She couldn't see the beautiful silver eyes of her … her wife's, and that frustrated her, but more frustratingly, she hadn't come yet, even though she needed, needed, needed, needed, _needed_ to come.

"Nnnnnh! Ghhhah! Hhhah!"

Smothered by the soft tits pushing into her from both, the back and front, and hugged by both, Arkee and Crystal, thinking was not only hard, it was impossible. And the occasional stray thought that made it through the soft tits was immediately drowned it her own passion.

Her lovers groaned, as did she, and the rhythm with which she was violated grew much, much faster. Each new thrust briefly intensified the shaking of her body. Her tired body that felt so wonderful and that hadn't stopped shaking in quite a while.

"Yyyyeaaah!"

Quite frankly, she was astonished she hadn't yet felt the sweet relief she so craved. But it couldn't be long, now, her shaking body had long grown tense … just a bit more … just a bit … one more thrust …

"Nh! Hhhhah! Why … ghah!"

Ahsoka leaned back and closed her eyes. Arkee pinched her nipples and rubbed them – hard, but gentle enough it didn't hurt.

She felt Crystal's lips on her throat, and Arkee's tongue on her lekku, and always, always, always the blue dildos sliding deep into her and pulling back to repeat the pleasurable torture

"Nnnnnnh!"

But no relief.

It felt wonderful – too wonderful – the young Togruta was drowning in ecstasy.. Already, she should have come for the umpteenth time and yet …

Instead, Ahsoka's body merely kept shaking in frustration. Her belly muscles started aching and her thoughts were long gone, but none of that mattered; all that mattered was the pleasure. The hot white pleasure. The cruel, wonderful, pleasure.

Crystal twitched. The blue devil looked at Ahsoka, flushing and smiling, and with a last thrust of her hips, came, then collapsed onto Ahsoka.

She was tired, Ahsoka could see it even through the haze that clouded her mind, but the stubborn Chiss didn't think about stopping. Breathing heavily, she pulled herself up and kissed Ahsoka while Arkee – beautiful, cruel Arkee – was grinding her hips up and down without pause and making Ahsoka shiver with each thrust into her butt.

"Mmmmh! Gha! Haaah!"

The kiss ended and Crystal resumed rocking her hips.

Arkee was next to orgasm. The ancient Anzat came with a shiver and a barely audible gasp. She recovered quickly, kissed Ahsoka on the lekku, the continued to slam her hips into the shrieking Togruta.

But to her, Ahsoka, the helplessly shaking Togruti teen that wanted nothing more than to finally feel the sweet, sweet, sweet relief of an orgasm on her wrecked body, to her it was denied.

"Why?! I … heeh! I can't … I … I want ..."

But it didn't matter what she wanted. It didn't matter she had been on the edge longer than she had ever been before. All that mattered was that despite the constant pleasure torturing her body, there was no peak for her.

"B-bah! Bastards!", she snapped, "Bastards! Bitches! Th-ah!"

"My, such vile language, darling."

Arkee gave her another kiss. She didn't want a kiss, she wanted to fucking come her brains out!

"Whatever did we do to deserve that?"

"I … I don't know yet!"

Ahsoka had to concentrate to form coherent words.

"But – nh! – but I … I n-know it's you!"

Arkee chuckled in reply.

"Crystal? Let's flip her, you must be tired."

The cruel pleasure stopped increasing, for a moment – though none of it disappeared – as the sweaty blue girl exhaustedly laid down on Ahsoka, obviously thankful for the suggestion, and hugged her, tightly pressing her against Arkee.

Arkee used the force to levitate the three of them up by an inch and slowly rotated the naughty constellation until Crystal was beneath Ahsoka before gently putting them back down on the ground.

Crystal relaxed her grip and leaned back, releasing Ahsoka who – now that nothing was pressing her against Arkee anymore – fell forward. Her weary head that had rested in Arkee's neck, before, was now next to the blue girl with the relaxing scent and the pitch-black hair.

Ahsoka couldn't help it, she just needed to gently nibble on Crystal's earlobe with her lips.

"Ah! Ahsoka?"

She didn't stop. Gently, ever so gently, she ravaged her Chiss friend.

Ear, Cheek … Mouth.

Ahsoka gazed deep into the red eyes that had fascinated her so the first time she had seen them and that she still found so beautiful.

"Please?", she asked, "I'm sorry about what I said. I – nh!"

Arkee started to rock her hips, again, slowly, though so it was easier for her to speak.

"I'm sorry", Ahsoka repeated, "Please d-don't be so mean to m-eeh!."

Ahsoka bit her lips and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to concentrate and Arkee was not about to make it easy for her and punished her with long and powerful thrusts that sent shivers up her spine and rocked her into the blue girl beneath her.

Crystal was very squishy … so soft – no! She had to concentrate she couldn't …

"Ah!"

Ahsoka sighed when Arkee buried the strap-on she was wearing all the way up her ass. The sensation made her twitch, helping Crystal to thrust into her pussy.

"P-p-please?", Ahsoka whined.

The young Togruta was almost drooling when she kissed her blue friend again.

"Sweet Crystal? Nice Crystal? Gentle Crystal?", she babbled, "I love you! Y-yh! You won't let me suffer? You … you'll save me, r-right?"

But the cruel Chiss blushed and averted her eyes.

"I … I can't, Ahsoka. O-only aunty knows ..."

Ahsoka groaned and hugged Crystal tightly as Arkee sped up her hips.

"Such a shame, darling, the girl you cheated on me with cannot help you… only I."

Ahsoka shrieked loudly.

"I – I'm sorry!", she exclaimed, "I – ah! Forgive me!"

Arkee didn't say anything but she probably was grinning, yes, she most definitely was grinning; Ahsoka could feel it when her torturer leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"A-Arkee! Beloved w-wife", Ahsoka continued, "Wonderful teacher, gentle lover, beautiful – a-ah!"

"Enough, darling, you're going to make me blush."

She gifted the frantic Togruti teen another hot kiss on her lekku.

"But are you _sure_ you want me to release you?"

"Y-yes! Please, master! R-r-rrh! Release me, please! I can't stand it anymore!"

"Ah, but you know, that necklace you're wearing … it's an old Sith device, originally meant to torture. It doesn't merely suppress what you feel, it stores it."

Crystal twitched and came and Ahsoka quickly kissed her, gazing deep into the glittering pupil-less red eyes of the orgasming young Chiss, praying her friend's orgasm would magically become her own. It was unfair, so unfair, that it did not.

"When I release you, _all_ the passion it's stored will return to your body … I can't stop it, you can't stop it, no-one can save you."

Ahsoka shivered, both in anticipation and in fright.

 _All_ the passion it stole from her? Could … could she _take_ that? Was her tired body prepared to deal with the consequences?

"So I ask again … do you want this, darling?"

Then again … compared to this living hell of never-ending pleasure, how bad could it be? She'd get the relief she so craved, followed by a quick sensory overload as her brain shortened out and she lost consciousness …

Crystal – recovered from her orgasm – reached up and gently started to massage Ahsoka's lekku.

By reflex, Ahsoka pushed her head into the movements to help her.

Yes, she wanted her relief … she wanted, needed it – now – she couldn't endure this.

"P-please, Master", she begged obediently, "Let me come."

"Ready, Crystal?", the murderous white Anzat asked.

The young Chiss beneath Ahsoka let her hands glide over the orange skin until they came to rest on Ahsoka's hips.

"R-ready", she nervously agreed.

"Alright, let me concentrate a moment … _Asha!_ "

Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock.

She had expected a single, quick burst of pleasure to wreck her body once and be done with it. The truth, though, was much more cruel.

"Heeeeh! G-a-ah! Haaaaah!"

Arkee and Crystal – both using her hips to pull themselves against the spasming orange girl, thrust forcefully into the very depths of Ahsoka's caverns.

"Sheeeee!", Ahsoka howled, then her breath was knocked out of her, again, "Ah-arrrrrh! Yes! I … ghaaaa!"

Everything turned white and Ahsoka almost wept in joy as she finally felt her orgasm. Her pussy greedily clamped down on the blue toy that was penetrating her in rhythmical contractions and her asshole all but chopped off the dildo Arkee was pushing into her.

"Yaaaaaah!"

It didn't stop, though. No sooner had she recovered from her orgasm as she was already driven over the edge anew.

"Aaah! Eeeeeek! Yeh– !"

The force of her orgasm punched the breath out of her and she gasped as her forcefully twitching body was rendered useless by another peak.

Unconsciously, she started to move her arms and legs, as if to crawl away, but her torturers held her firmly and pushed the blue dildos deep, deep, _deep_ into her. Again … and again … and again.

She started violently rocking her own hips up and down, her weary hips that should have been too tired to move. Her body protested and ached, but she ignored it. Her next orgasm came much quicker.

"Oh, she likes it, Crystal, look at her hop."

 _Hop_ probably wasn't the correct expression for the much more violent movements with which Ahsoka moved her body.

"S-stop the – no! N-oh!"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes up into her head as she came again. No, that's not it, she had never stopped orgasming. The pleasure from her choker was trickling slowly, very slowly, back and the relief she had craved was stretched over an eternity of agonising bliss.

She hugged Crystal, hugged her tightly in a futile attempt to stop the violent shaking of her body, and screamed, loud and shrill.

"Yeeeh! Mercy! Meaaa-aah!"

For a brief moment, she was silenced as her brain blanked out again, then she continued screaming.

"No! Stop! M-ah! Make it stop!", she begged, "Make it stop! Make it –hah-ah!"

She spasmed in a manner that reminded more of a weak epileptic seizure than of the wonderful peak of sexual intercourse, but she definitely felt the latter. Then she felt it again … and again … and again … and again … and again, as if a thousand times a second.

"Neeeeeeh!"

Ahsoka was moving her arms and legs in completely erratic ways. She writhed and wriggled aimlessly while the two wonderful cruel bitches held her firmly in place and kept plunging their strap-ons deep, deep into her holes – both of them.

"Heh-help meeee!"

But even her tired body was betraying her. She couldn't move any of her limbs at will, anymore, instead she just laid on the wonderfully soft blue Chiss and twitched in whatever direction her body decided to twitch.

"Hrrrraah! Pleeee! Ha-aaaaah!"

Her body bucked again, no longer fighting the pleasure, just reacting to it.

"Ghaah!"

She stopped begging for it to stop, she accepted it wasn't going to stop. She would lie here and keep orgasming until her brain gave out and her breathing stopped working. And the very last thing she would ever feel was the soft, soft blue flesh of her friend beneath her, the gentle but cruel pale hands of her beloved Arkee's and the merciless spikes in her crotch. She liked the idea. _Fucked to death._ What an epitaph.

"Ha-aah! Aaaah!"

For now, though, she wasn't dead. And not being dead meant being able to orgasm once more.

"Yeeeeeh! A-agaaaah!"

Crystal smelled good, like a warm summer day, and lying on top of her, feeling the gentle touch of her large blue breasts pushing into her own felt wonderful.

"Ghuh! Hrrrrh! Noh!"

Arkee ... she didn't know how Arkee smelled, right now, her Anzati wife was too far above her. But she didn't need to smell her, she could feel her strong presence in the force gently wrap itself around her, closer than Crystal ever could come.

Cradled like that, Ahsoka came. She came and came and didn't stop coming for a long, long time. Her screams eventually became whimpers, then she whimpered until her whimpers became desperate gasps for air.

And when the two mad bitches who had never stopped fucking her – not for a moment – finally removed the plugs from her holes with very loud, wet noises, she was almost disappointed.

Crystal beneath her was breathing heavily, obviously tired, and the deep breaths softly pushed Ahsoka up and down.

She felt Arkee's lips on her cheek in a very gentle kiss.

"You are amazing, darling", the beautiful voice sang.

Ahsoka smiled, she lacked the strength to do anything more.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

*whew* new chapter finished.  
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Consider adding me and/or my stories to your alert list.  
I will warn you now that I will also be posting a short story, every now and again, that will not be part of this one (like I did with my "Padawan Relaxation").

On a side note, you may notice that my portrayal of the Chiss differs from what must now (unfortunately) be considered canon after the cursed trailer for the third season of Star Wars Rebels is released. So let me be clear about this:  
My Chiss have no (visible) pupils, never had (visible) pupils and will continue to have no (visible) pupils, as they were displayed in numerous video games and comics before Disney took over.  
The decision to destroy the Chiss race is bloody awful and I will downright ignore it.  
twitter[dotcom]/user_1291/status/755076396402302976

Note: I welcome feedback and I'm grateful when somebody tells me his honest opinion. It's also perfectly fine for that opinion to differ from my own, _BUT_ I would prefer reviews to be about the chapter's _CONTENT,_ rather than the author's notes. If you want to comment on the _notes_ (or if you're too shy to leave a review), please send me a PM. =)


	8. Ch8 - Unexpected Visitors

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.8: Unexpected Visitors**

Lucia yawned and stretched in her seat.

When her Master had told her, she only had to follow Master Yoda to find the Sith bitch she was supposed to permanently remove from the galaxy, she had assumed it would be a matter of hours, not days.

Yet here they were.

Yoda didn't seem to be in a particular hurry to be reunited with his latest failure of a padawan. He had wandered the streets seemingly at random, helping this guy or that with some trivial issue or other. Slowly, he had wandered lower and lower circles of Coruscant and listened. Listened to the stories the people told – and people _loved_ telling stories.

Stories about their neighbours secret mistress that everybody knew about.

Stories about how the senate was in truth a house of puppets and that democracy didn't exist.

Stories about how, at one time, some bloke killed three sewer rats with a single shot.

And stories about flying witches.

Master Yoda listened and he always appeared politely interested in the boring bullshit people told him to feel more important but Lucia recognised faked interest when she saw it, even in Yoda, and the old Jedi Master only ever truly seemed interested when people talked about witches.

The bored assassin punched a few buttons on the keyboard in front of her and the feed split into a view on Master Yoda and one on the person he was talking to – a beggar of sorts. Human. Very old. Very filthy. Sitting on the ground.

Once again, Lucia was surprised by the quality the nanocams were delivering. After all, those were flying droids small enough most species eyes didn't even register them and they used so little power a bit of light was enough to recharge their batteries.

Of course for Sith-hunting, there was also the advantage that they were droids – and thus dead to the force.

"Come on, Master", Lucia whispered, "Don't disappoint me."

"I's seed them, I swear!", the beggar replied, "R-right over there."

He pointed with a stick in the general direction.

"Not lying, I swear! Two witches! Fell like stones, them did. Right there."

"Witches, you say?"

"Witches, aye! You see? People, them fall down here all the time. I's seed enough of them go splat."

The beggar grinned.

"Make a big splat. Really ugly stain, too. But them witches? Gone. No splat. No stain. I's even checked the day after, I swear."

Yoda looked in the direction the beggar was pointing.

"Describe them to me, you can?"

The old beggar straightened up, happy to feel important.

"Sure. I's seed them with me own eyes, I swear! But all this talk, it make me go hungry. I don s'ppose me fine sir could mayhaps part with a credit or two?"

Yoda reached into his robes.

"Hungry, you are?"

He pulled out a big sandwich and handed it to the beggar who could not believe his luck.

"Feed you better, this will, than a credit, I think."

"You'sha nish guh", the beggar said as he wolfed down the bread. It was gone in a moment and Yoda politely waited for him to finish.

"You's a nice guy", the beggar repeated, "Not like the stuck-up idiots I sees fancy around here, give me the eye as if I be a disease."

He coughed.

"Now … witches, eh? They be falling so fast, they be but two black bolts. But one musta been a blonde. Had shiny hair flutter around her, very pretty."

"Blonde, you say?"

"Aye, blonde. Only way to know it was a she-witch, too. Hair so long and bright, she looked like one of them shooting stars. I holded my breath for a moment."

The beggar pointed towards the edge of the platform.

"Them's gone in an eyeblink. And I says to meself, _Jebby_ , I say, _Jebby them done for. Poor pair of lasses._ Mayhaps another murder, myhaps an accident. Dunno, dinna care. Seen to much of both. But me hears no splat. Them always make a splat when them fall so close to here."

He raised a finger.

"Could never mistake that sound. Very distinctive sound, that. Makes me skin crawl every time. But this time? Me no hear it. So, _Jebby_ , I says to meself, _Jebby that strange,_ I say, _fall down here, pretty hair or not, them all make a splat._ "

As if to demonstrate, the beggar clapped his hands together.

"So, I's goned down, I did, talk to them poor folks there. Well, turns out me pretties really dinna go splat, after all. Turns out they dinna fall, but flied through the air. _Whoosh_! Landed right on that square, with not a single of them beautiful hairs harmed. Witches, I swear! And all witches be bad luck. So me leg it outta there as fast as me fucking legs carry me. Useless things, me legs, hurt like fucking mad."

He beat his leg and grunted.

"Hmm ….", Yoda hummed, "Fascinating creatures, these witches. Learn more about them, I would."

The old beggar shrugged.

"That's all I know. Bad luck, witches, even when them have pretty hair – especially when them have pretty hair. Bad luck. Dinna wanna know no more, dinna ask."

He straightened up with a proud smile, nonetheless.

"But", he said, "You should talk to ol' Markus two floors down. Swears on his mother's tits he's seed them witches. Blubbers to everybody within two miles about it. Looked them right in the eyes, he swears. Poor bastard be cursed, for sure, but mayhaps he knows more, eh?"

"Markus, his name is? Where find him I do?"

Lucia groaned.

Another witch hunt. That meant another couple hours Master Yoda would spend walking into a probably completely wrong direction. Another couple hours spent on idiots fawning over fantasies of falling witches and what their gazes could do to men who looked at them. Another couple hours lost.

She didn't know why Yoda insisted on this nonsense. Perhaps he was simply planning on spending some time in the city before returning to the temple and claiming he could not find Tano? That would be unacceptable.

The impatient Shadow glanced at the watch and sighed in relief.

"Sumia, your turn!"

Sumia – a young woman with wavy blonde hair and shiny green eyes – groaned in frustration, but obediently got up from the bed she had been lying on. She was one of her fellow shadows that her Master had sent her.

"We've been doing this for days. This is a waste of time", she complained. Still, Sumia was nothing if not dutiful. Lucia knew she may complain but in the end she would always do what is required of her, and indeed, she took Lucia's position at the monitor without another word of protest.

Lucia stood up and stretched. Her eyes fell on Ta'aan – or simply _Ta_ , as Sumia and she had been calling her back in the days – lying on the sofa nearby.

Ta was the other shadow Lucia's Master had sent her, and she was a striking opposite of Sumia.

Sumia was refined and diligent, eager to do her duty, even when that duty seemed cumbersome. Ta, on the other hand, was … _Ta_. Lazy and not easy to motivate, and – Lucia smiled – she most certainly did not possess Sumia's refinement.

Her friend's legs were raised up over the backrest of the sofa she was lying on, her torso twisted such that her head was swinging freely, her arms raised above her head and touching the ground. The posture wasn't very graceful, not graceful at all, but judging by Ta's peaceful expression on her face, very, very relaxing.

"Oh, Ta ...", Lucia sighed, brushing her own brown hair out of her face.

Part of her wanted to blame Ta's demeanour on her half-cathar heritage. In non-scientific terms, the Cathar were _'cat-people',_ and although both, the scientists and the Cathar themselves insisted that this term was crudely inaccurate and didn't have anything to do with the species, Lucia couldn't help thinking that Ta – who looked mostly like a normal human would – resembled an oversized kitten.

She approached the sofa and sat down beside her friend. Ta wasn't wearing much of a top, just something that looked like bandages wrapped around her chest – she had never been fond of the traditional Jedi garments – and Lucia put her hand onto the naked belly as she sat down beside her.

"Wake up, you lazy, lazy kitty, you."

Lucia started to rub the smooth warm belly beneath her hand. Ta half hummed, half groaned but didn't protest. Quite on the contrary, she even bent a bit more to make sure her abdomen was fully accessible. And though she kept her eyes closed, she smiled, revealing her blinking fangs.

"Hmmmm … this really brings back memories", Ta'aan purred, "How long has it been since the three of us have been together like this?"

"Conservative estimate ….", Sumia joined in, never looking away from the monitor, "… at least eight years."

"Eight years", Ta repeated, "Well, I, for one, am grateful to that Ahsoka Tano for bringing us back together. I never understood why the masters needed to split us up, we were a great team."

"We were having too much fun killing people", Sumia answered, "We were becoming dangerous"

"That's bullshit."

" _Also_ ", Sumia continued, ignoring Ta, "We were starting to get too attached to each other. It made us weak and unfocused and altogether unprofessional."

"Stop, Sumy", Ta begged, "My Master spent _months_ preaching to me after that night. I can do without being reminded."

"Well, Ta, you always were the – how did my Master put it – the most rebellious one", Lucia said with a smirk, " But look at you, some things never change, no matter how much time passes."

She kept massaging Ta's lean belly and Ta surrendered herself to the gentle touches.

"My adorable kitty has grown into a fearsome predator but she still likes to have her belly rubbed."

Playing along with the kitty references, Ta meowed playfully, then started purring loudly.

"You two _do_ realise how old you are?", Sumia complained.

"Oh, come on, Sumy, you're just jealous. I remember you were also very fond of doing this", Ta teased.

"That … that was a long time ago!"

"You were soooo gentle, too", Ta continued teasing her, "And you always blushed so cute!"

Sumia pretended not to hear her and stared at the monitor so intensely you'd think she wanted to break it with her glares.

"Oh, you still do that when you're embarrassed", Lucia remarked, then grinned and looked at Ta who returned the grin and nodded.

Silently, the two females got down onto the ground and crawled closer to their companion – two felines, sneaking up on an unsuspecting prey.

"And do you remember how we usually reconciled?"

Sumia twitched. She obviously remembered.

She wanted to turn around, but it was much too late. Four strong arms grabbed the blonde Jedi and pulled her back, knocking the chair she was sitting in over. Sumia shrieked as she fell.

"Get her legs!", Ta shouted.

"No! N-eeeeeh!"

Lucia grabbed the wildly kicking legs and pushed them down to the ground.

"Stop, I – yaaah-ha-ha-ha! I … Ah-ha-ha-ha ! Noooo!"

Sumia broke into laughter as her overpowering friends tickled her, pressing her strongly to the ground to make all her struggling useless.

"Yeeee-hee-hee-hee! We- we're – yah-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

They tickled her a bit longer, then allowed her a short break.

"Heh … we… we're supposedly the best hunters the Jedi Order has. Act like eeeeeeeh-hee-hee-heet! Nyaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The blonde female writhed and bent in vain, trying to escape her companions' touches.

Many, many shrieks later, all three of them were exhaustedly lying on the ground, weakly chuckling.

"If … if we missed something vital due to this", Sumia huffed, "The masters are going to be so displeased."

Despite her words, she smiled.

"I ..."

She hesitated, then reached out and gently rubbed Ta's belly.

"I know I shouldn't", Sumia confessed, "and I _will_ punish myself for this, but ... I missed you guys."

* * *

"You sure you don't want to join us? The whirlpool here is very nice."

Ahsoka – still in her wetsuit – looked at the green female who was hastily dressing in the lavender maid uniform she had received from Crystal.

They had been training, Arkee, Barriss and she, until Barriss left a short while ago to shower. Now, the young Togruta was very much looking forward to a relaxing hot bath that would _bubble_ the fatigue out of her tired body. _And_ because they had the entire floor to themselves, there was plenty of space in the small dressing room to the bath built for at least ten times as many people.

"I'd love to, actually", Barriss admitted, "But I mustn't keep the Mistress waiting. I'm late, as it is."

Ahsoka tilted her head.

"The … the _Mistress_?", she asked slowly.

Barriss blushed and she looked down at the ground.

"That … that's what we're all calling her", she mumbled.

 _'We'_ , that was probably the girls working at this _'hotel'_ , and ' _she'_ was undoubtedly the shy Chiss girl Ahsoka had befriended.

"C-Crystal? You call Crystal your … _Mistress_?"

Barriss' blush grew brighter. That was all the confirmation Ahsoka needed.

"Really?", Ahsoka asked, more herself than her friend.

She blinked at Barriss for a moment, trying to understand what she had just heard.

"Oh."

She was probably sounding stupid but … _Crystal?_

"She's not forcing you into anything, is she?"

"N-no", Barriss answered quickly, "She's very … gentle."

"Really?"

It was a strange thing to say.

Barriss looked over her shoulder as if to make sure nobody was listening.

"Actually, it wasn't even her idea. Everybody just kept calling her Mistress and it sort of … happened."

Her voice lowered to barely more than a whisper.

"She was surprised, at first, but then she smiled, and … Ahsoka, that smile! I never wanted to call her anything else again!"

Ahsoka gawked at her green friend, then started chuckling.

"I'm telling you, she's … hypnotic. She's … she's controlling them, somehow! She's – "

"You're in _love_ , Barriss", Ahsoka cooed, trying hard to suppress her laughter.

"Am not!"

" _Loooooooove!"_

Ahsoka embraced her friend and kissed her on the cheek.

"Go, maid, your _Mistress_ is waiting", she whispered into Barriss's ear.

"I … I'm not ..."

"Go", Ahsoka encouraged her, "Or are you going to disobey your mistress by staying?"

Ahsoka winked and Barriss smiled weakly.

"Yes, my lady", she said, took a few step back and bowed before she turned and hurried off. Ahsoka watched her go and wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Mistress, eh?", she repeated to herself after the door had closed behind her friend.

The orange teen shook her head and slowly walked to one of the many lockers.

"Mistress...", she mumbled again.

An image came to mind: Barriss, chained down, slowly being undressed by Crystal. Piece by piece, the lavender uniform was pulled away to reveal smooth green skin. They looked into each other's eyes and suddenly, a spark shot from crystals pupil-less gentle rubies into the very depths of Barriss' mind.

The green female started shaking and Crystal kissed her oh so softly, smiling gently.

"Mistress... ", Barriss moaned when their lips parted, but she was kissed again before she could say more. And then...

Ahsoka shook her head violently.

Granted, this wasn't the first time she was having fantasies about her friends, but ...

 _Mistress!_ , Barriss' aroused voice echoed through her head.

The young Togruta bit her lip.

"I'm not jealous", she declared, as if to convince herself, then slowly undressed and put the wetsuit into the locker.

 _Mercy! Mercy!_

Barriss' face – distorted by the pleasure she was feeling – flashed in front of Ahsoka again and again, Ahsoka shook her head so violently her lekku all but flew around her.

This time, it worked.

Now naked, Ahsoka reached into the locker one last time and pulled out the soft silvery rope she had asked Crystal for a couple of hours ago before she closed the locker and carefully walked to the wall that separated the dressing room from the actual bath.

The orange teen spied around the corner.

Arkee was sitting at some distance, naked, her back towards the entrance, her head lowered as she brushed her long, long light hair.

She did that a lot, brush her hair, and once started, she could continue for _hours!_

Not today, of course. She wasn't going to wait hours.

Ahsoka gripped the rope more tightly and carefully tiptoed into the room, doing her best to erase her presence just like she had been taught at the Jedi temple an eternity ago.

She was confident that if it had been anybody else, they probably wouldn't be able to sense her until it was too late. With Arkee, she was less confident, but that was alright, she didn't really mind being caught … quite on the contrary, actually.

But to her surprise, there was no reaction from her lover at all.

Ahsoka had expected the Anzati female to get up and jump her but she just kept brushing her hair as if she wasn't aware of Ahsoka's presence.

This was almost disappointing.

Very slowly, Ahsoka sneaked closer to the pale female brushing her hair.

The bathroom was large but the water hot and steam filled the air and caressed her body as she moved.

Very relaxing, very gentle. Ahsoka liked it.

But with every further step she took, the hot steam seemed less and less important and in turn, she grew ever more aware of her quick heartbeat.

Just a bit more … almost …

She carefully felt the rope in the force, then let go of it. And while it silently unfurled mid-air, she glanced at Arkee who was still brushing her hair.

Ahsoka extended a hand and pointed at her teacher.

This was too easy, _much_ too easy.

 _Now!_

The silver rope shot forward and started to tighten around Arkee … who suddenly slipped forward and to the ground, avoiding the rope. The next instant, she was on her feet and in another blink of an eye, she was standing behind Ahsoka.

"Finally decided to join me, have you?"

Under normal circumstances, Ahsoka could have easily avoided the pale arms that were now embracing her – they were even slower than when they were training – but she was still very much surprised by Arkee's sudden reaction and stunned just long enough for escape to become an impossibility.

One of Arkee's hands found and carefully squeezed Ahsoka's breast, the other rested on her belly. Soft lips pushed against her neck and didn't retreat for a long while.

She sighed.

"Mmmmh, I _thought_ this was too easy."

Arkee chuckled.

"Give me some credit, darling, there was a time I spent centuries in paranoia, tracking every fly in that godawful inn I had hidden myself in. I like to think you'll have to do better than that to sneak up on me."

"The experience that comes with high age, eh?", Ahsoka teased.

"Oh, I have _much_ to teach you if you can still talk to me that way", Arkee threatened.

Ahsoka shivered when her teacher's sleek fingers started playing with her nipple.

"The stupid one is not coming?"

"B-Barriss? No, she's anxious to meet with her … _Mistress._ "

"Her Mistress?"

"It's what she's started to call Crystal", Ahsoka explained.

"Crystal?"

"I _know_."

"Hm … interesting."

Arkee slowly moved her mouth up from Ahsoka's neck and kissed her lekku, instead.

"You don't approve?", she asked.

"I … she looked very happy. I haven't seen her so happy in a long time. Crystal's done a marvellous job. But ..."

She fell silent.

"You're jealous", the fair-haired Anzat remarked, almost as if amused.

"I'm not – "

Arkee interrupted her by pinching a nipple.

"Lying to _me_ , darling?"

Ahsoka blushed.

"Maybe a tiny bit", she mumbled.

For a moment, they were silent, then Ahsoka turned in Arkee's arms and faced her lover.

"How do you do it?", she asked.

"Do what?"

"So far, we've had a rather open relatio-"

"Marriage", Arkee corrected with a grin, "You should be getting used to saying it."

"We have a rather open m-marriage", Ahsoka repeated obediently, "D-don't you get jealous, at times?"

"At times", Arkee admitted, "But ..."

The white woman tightened her embrace, pressing them closely together.

"I hold you tight whenever I can", Arkee purred to her orange prey, her face now dangerously close to Ahsoka's, "And immerse myself in you until your heartbeat becomes mine."

She gave her young lover a soft kiss on the lekku, then leaned forward, a bit, gently breaking Ahsoka's balance. Ahsoka let her and hung herself into the arms she knew wouldn't drop her.

"And when I'm drunk with your presence", Arkee continued whispering, pressing her forehead against Ahsoka's. Their eyes met, and as Ahsoka gazed into the beautiful grey eyes, she suddenly felt like swimming in an endless sea of silver.

"When the warmth of your body permeates me as I feel your soft lips against mine ..."

Never breaking eye contact, her lover slowly rolled her light-haired head down, bringing their lips closer and closer until they were all but a heartbeat away from each other, but they didn't touch, they stopped _just_ before the kiss would have occurred and hung there forever.

Ahsoka couldn't help it, she tilted her head back and tried to find the pale lips with her own. She was frustrated when they didn't. Arkee had retreated at the last moment and now looked down at her with an affectionate smile.

" _Then_ , I know you're mine and always will be."

Finally, the smiling Anzat pushed her lips down that last inch that had separated them and Ahsoka hungrily kissed her lover, long and passionate.

"Still feel jealous?", Arkee asked with a grin when their lips parted an eternity later.

"If I say yes, will you kiss me again?"

She didn't say yes. They kissed anyway.

"Now … what were you trying to do with that rope, darling?"

"I – "

Ahsoka averted her eyes and mumbled something.

"Yes?"

"I … was hoping you'd use it."

For a moment, Arkee seemed surprised, then she grinned.

"Wait, are you telling me you _expected_ me to dodge?"

Ahsoka returned the grin and re-established eye contact.

"Or to turn the rope against me", she explained, "Don't get me wrong, though, I really was trying."

"And ... if you had succeeded?"

Ahsoka hesitated for a heartbeat.

"T-That would have been fine as well."

"Ha!", Arkee exclaimed, "I'm almost sorry I dodged."

She took half a step back and pointed her hand at the rope that raised from where it lay and shot at her. A moment later, she caught it and turned towards Ahsoka again.

"So … want to try again?", she asked and carefully laid the soft rope into the surprised Togruta's arms.

"I – "

Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise.

Never breaking eye contact, Arkee knelt down in front of her orange pupil, held the position for a moment, then kissed Ahsoka's belly before looking back up at her.

"In the end, the master must bow before the apprentice", Arkee teased, kissed Ahsoka's belly again, then slowly kissed her way down Ahsoka's leg until she was completely bent over, kissing the young Togruta's foot. She didn't get back up.

Ahsoka looked at her lover and felt the adrenaline surging through her veins.

True, they had had some playful _'fights'_ before, but in the end, she always was dominated – in one way or the other – by her teacher.

And she liked it.

She liked being overpowered, she liked being weak and helpless, she liked being toyed with, she liked playing the mouse running away from the cat.

In a strange way, putting herself at the mercy of her pale lover made her feel ... _safe_.

Even when the pleasure started to get to her, when her body was aching and her mind swirling, when she was pleading and begging for it to stop and the pale devil continued and continued and continued … she felt safe.

Funnily, the thought of being in control, for once, was both, exciting … and frightening.

"So ...", Arkee interrupted her thoughts as she kissed Ahsoka's foot again, "What's it going to be, darling? Want to _hold_ the leash, today?"

Ahsoka looked down at her lover's head hovering only inches above the ground, the long, freshly-combed hair already dishevelling again as it spread in front of her like a light-golden, almost silvery, carpet.

She felt Arkee's wet tongue on her foot as she was kissed again.

"S-s-stand!", she mumbled somewhat softer than she intended, her heart racing.

She felt another kiss on her foot, then Arkee rocked back and looked up.

"Make me", she teased with a grin, then leaned forwards again and continued kissing Ahsoka's feet, "A command is worthless if the one receiving it does not believe you are willing and able to enforce it."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. That calmed her down enough to try again.

"I said … _stand!_ ", she repeated more firmly, pointed a hand at the white woman at her feet and used the force to pull her up and into an upright posture.

"Good", Arkee commented with a smirk, " _Now_ you're learning."

Ahsoka looked up into the taller female's grey eyes. She could feel Arkee was enjoying this reversal, too, and it was exciting her further.

"You … you are mine, you hear?", she stammered, silently cursing her anxious heart, "Defy me like that again and it _will_ have c-consequences."

Surprise flickered over Arkee's face but disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Smirking again, the proud Anzat bent her head.

"I understand, _master_ ", she cooed, "Please forgive me."

"Y-you are forgiven", Ahsoka declared, less firmly than she would have liked, "Now turn … slowly!"

Arkee complied and turned around.

"Now … put your hands onto your back."

Ahsoka grasped the soft rope and noticed she had been pressing it to her chest.

"Good. Now stay like that", she said as she stepped closer to her submissive … _plaything_.

"You shouldn't start all your commands with _now_ , darling", Arkee commented, but didn't move at all.

Ahsoka somewhat clumsily wrapped the rope around Arkee's arms and tried a few different ways to knot it before she found one she was arguably confident would hold. She had no idea what she was doing, but it was exciting.

"Face me", she commanded, and Arkee turned again, her hands now bound onto her back.

Ahsoka thought of the many times she had been dominated, placed a hand below Arkee's chin, then pulled her lover's face closer and kissed her briefly.

When their lips parted and she reopened her eyes, she noticed her … _slave's_ were playfully dancing.

"C-come with me", she stammered, and turned around – hopefully, Arkee hadn't noticed these eyes were making her weak.

The young Togruta walked a few metres, then climbed into a large whirlpool and swam to the edge of it where there were shallow banks meant to be used in a lying position, facing the ceiling, while strong water jets provided a relaxing back massage.

"Ah", she laid down and stretched, then sat back up and gestured for Arkee who had been waiting outside the pool to get into the water.

"What are you waiting for? Join me", she complained.

Her pale victim bowed deeply, climbed in and swam towards the orange teen as gracefully as having her hands tied onto her back allowed.

When she was close enough, Ahsoka caught the struggling white woman and pulled her onto the specious bank before she climbed onto her helpless prey.

"Master?", Arkee cooed, but she didn't get to say any more as she was kissed the very next instant.

Just then, the powerful whirlpool started exploding large bubbles, showering them with hot water, but Ahsoka hardly noticed. She fully lost herself in the incredibly soft feeling of her lover's pale lips and revelled in the soft twitches that went through Arkee's body as the Anzati woman tried to keep herself upright balance.

"M-master?", Arkee moaned, slightly out of breath, when their lips eventually passed, "A-are you going to do mean things to me, master?", she continued and looked at Ahsoka with big, shy eyes, and suddenly, her lover seemd so frail and innocent, Ahsoka almost doubted it was really her. She brushed her fingers down the pale chest and gently played with the very, very hard nipples.

Arkee shivered. Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes.

"Alright, stop it", Ahsoka complained.

"Darling?"

"You're in my head, aren't you? Making yourself look weak and scared."

Her pale lover grinned, re-establishing the arrogant yet calm superiority she was used to seeing in her teacher. The tears disappeared – they had never been there – and a playful glint took their place.

"I'm a bit disappointed you figured it out so quickly. Too obvious?"

"Too obvious", Ahsoka confirmed, "I don't want to embrace a puppet. And ..."

She averted her eyes.

"I … I don't think I like this commanding stuff", she mumbled, "It's no fun if you aren't putting up a fight."

Arkee started chuckling.

"My, my, my", she commented with a broad grin, "You aren't satisfied with broken toys, you want to break them yourself."

Ahsoka didn't have time retort because suddenly, the bubbling water squeezed itself between her and her prey, separating them and pushing her towards the other end of the pool.

"Very well, darling, break me."

In a first moment, Ahsoka was caught completely off-guard. Then she managed to pull up a force shield, effectively diverting the incoming waves.

Things got much easier from then. With a single long leap, she pounced on the writhing Anzat and hugged her tightly.

"Rrrrrr ….", Arkee growled, and another wave of hot water uselessly crashed into Ahsoka's shield.

The young Togruta grinned when her prey started bucking, trying to throw her off, but with her hands bound on her back, there was no way Arkee could actually push her away without using the force – not that she wasn't trying, but Ahsoka made damn sure her shield was holding.

Excitement filled her as she rode the bucking pale female like others would a wild horse, using both, her arms and legs to hold on to her victim who was growing more and more tired with every passing moment.

Still, she could feel the power in the firm body beneath her. Lean muscles – a product of Arkee's predatory heritage and her centuries of training – pulsed and bent and pushed against Ahsoka. But Ahsoka held her tightly and in time, the struggle got weaker, the Anzat grew limp and the water died down to the bubbling massage it was supposed to be.

"Hah!", Arkee gasped, "I will not yield! I – "

Ahsoka shut her up with a kiss.

"Yes, you will", she simply said.

"You vampire!", Arkee exclaimed, "Leeching my strength with a kiss! I won't – "

And Ahsoka kissed her again.

And this time, she finally weakened her grasp on the pale woman and slid a bit to the side, bringing a hand down onto the soft breast and its hard rubbery tip.

Arkee twitched when her nipple was very, very lightly caressed. Ahsoka was very careful to give her no more than a slight tickle, no more than was necessary to induce a pleasurable feeling but enough to make her crave more.

It was working.

"You're devious, darling."

Ahsoka smirked but said nothing.

Instead, she slid further down and sucked the tip of one of the pale tits into her mouth then carefully nibbled on the hard bud.

The powerful predator shivered beneath her touches when she replaced her teeth with her tongue and intensified her caress.

She loved the taste, actually, it tasted so much like … Arkee.

Of course it did, but the feeling was strange and difficult to describe. Not even trying to come up with the right words, Ahsoka coiled her tongue around the erect buds and made sure it was thoroughly massaged.

She even tried to tug on the nipple with her tongue. When that wasn't working too well, she retorted to simple sucking as she played with it.

Arkee twitched and tried to twist away without success.

"H-how long are you goi-nh! to touch me there?", she gasped.

"Hm?"

Ahsoka opened her eyes – she hadn't noticed she had closed them – and looked up at the twitching Anzat's face.

"What, are you sensitive, here?", she asked and slowly dragged a finger across the glistening nipple.

Arkee twitched again and Ahsoka smiled.

"Oh, I see", she breathed, "You want me to attend to the other side as well."

Never stopping to play with her lover's nipple, the young Togruta slid herself onto Arkee's soft body, kissing her way from one breast to the next.

She gave the other nipple a quick and playful lick, then glanced at Arkee.

"You know, I'm going to enjoy this", she admitted, "I can feel the pleasure building in you, I can feel your desire for more, for me to be more rough, but there is absolutely _nothing_ you can do unless I permit it."

Barely touching the wet skin with it, Ahsoka slowly glided her tongue over the soft breast and tickled its very tip.

Slightly, ever so slightly, and her patience was rewarded with frustrated groans from her lover. Arkee tensed up and stuck out her chest in an attempt to intensify the feeling, but Ahsoka took her time, a lot of time,

"Nnnnnh …."

The powerful Anzat twisted beneath her, trapped somewhere between feeling good and going mad from the lack of stimulation.

"Ah!"  
Arkee moaned when her orange tormentor finally sucked the tip into her mouth and started attacking it more thoroughly.

"Gh – you … hah!"

Another shiver went through the pale body.

"D-darling ..."

Again, the white woman tensed up and gritted her teeth.

And again, the tension was released with a shiver and a groan.

It was an overwhelmingly erotic game. Slow, yes, but Ahsoka was in no rush. This was the first time her lover had submitted herself to her like that and she was going to savour it.

Besides, she needed to pay Arkee back for all the times she had brought her to the brink of insanity.

"Oohhh!"

Breathing much more heavily, Arkee relaxed her body and laid her head on the rim of the pool.

"P-please", she finally caved, "I … ah!"

Feeling her lover growing weak, unfocussed, Ahsoka smiled when she finally released the tit from her mouth and gazed into the beautiful silver eyes of the woman she was teasing.

"Please, darling", Arkee repeated, "Be more violent!"

Ahsoka kissed her.

"No", she simply said.

And with that, she started gliding her tongue down Arkee's cheek, then down the slender pale neck, closer and closer to the tit she had first massaged.

"I will take my time and enjoy your being helpless, for once."

Arkee inhaled sharply when Ahsoka sucked the tip of her breast back into her small mouth and renewed her caress.

"You're a vicious creature, darling – ah! – a vicious creature!"

The desperate Anzat writhed beneath her but achieved nothing.

Ahsoka grinned and gently pinched the hard bud in her mouth with her teeth.

"I had a _very_ good teacher", she answered.

"Hrrrrrh!"

Ahsoka made sure to keep her caresses very, very light. Just barely touching the tip of the erect bud, she gently tickled it with her tongue before she carefully circled around it massaging only the areola.

The hard nipple twitched, as she did, impatient to be touched again, and when she did, Arkee twitched as a whole.

"Mercy, darling, I'm going nuts!"

Ahsoka closed her eyes and continued her soft massage.

"D-darling? Ah!"

Another quiver went through the pale body.

"Please", Arkee moaned, "Please be more rough! E-even the water pushing into my back is more violent than you …"

Ahsoka stopped for a moment and looked up into Arkee's hazed eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"No", the mischievous Togruta repeated, "Not today. Today I want to be very gentle with you."

And she continued.

Arkee veritably jerked when the gentle tongue found her nipple again.

Eventually, the begging Anzat's breaths grew deeper, her body more tense, and still Ahsoka was being very, very careful in her touches.

"N-nh!"

Her lover was strongly fidgeting, now.

"D-darling? Darling, please ..."

Ahsoka smiled and continued.

"Ah! Are you l-listening? I – nh – gods!"

Her whole body started quivering.

Ahsoke sped up her tongue – just a bit – and her Anzati lover reacted with more squirms and frustrated groans.

"Hhhhhh … you … devil!", she breathed, "Y-you… ah!"

This was fun. Arkee's nipple was twitching beneath Ahsoka's tongue and it was hard, so hard …

Ahsoka gently teased the very tip of the solid bud, then rhythmically sucked on it.

"N-nh!"

The quiver in her lover's pale body grew stronger. Ahsoka closed her eyes again and continued tickling the erect nipple with her tongue.

"T-that's impossible!", Arkee exclaimed, "D-ah!"

Suddenly, her pale body jerked violently. Soft white breasts pushed upwards into Ahsoka's face.

Then she grew limp.

"Aaah … haahhh … t-that's ..."

Surprised, Ahsoka looked at her weakly gasping lover with the hazed silver eyes.

"Did … did you just come from _that_?", she asked unbelieving.

"I… I guess", Arkee admitted, then grinned weakly, "And I didn't even know that was possible."

Ahsoka blinked.

"Neither did I."

She grinned and slowly lowered her mouth towards the still erect nipple again. Arkee started twisting.

"No! Not again! I … I can't take this one more time."

"Oh come on, it was fun", Ahsoka teased, "Besides, today you're _mine_ and we're having a _lot_ of time."

"No, no, no, no, darling, listen to me! Darling? D—nh!"

Ahsoka happily suckled on the hard bud, then glanced at her lover and grinned. Usually, Arkee was so composed, so proud, so elegant, seeing her so desperate because of so soft touches made her very, very excited.

"Don't worry", Ahsoka promised, "I'll be very, very gentle."

* * *

"Well, somebody is happy", Zor remarked when he saw the smiles on both their faces as they walked into the command centre, "What have you done to the Crahsystor, flameskin?"

"Oh ...", Ahsoka answered as she looked at the lover whose arm she's clung to all the way down to the hidden room beneath Zor's office, "A bit of this, a lot of that … we had a lot of fun."

Quite unlike herself, Arkee was lacking the air of superiority she usually surrounded herself with. Right now, she seemed more like a shy girl – a shy _blushing_ girl, at that – so much, in fact, Ahsoka wanted to squeeze and cuddle her.

"Indeed?", Zor continued, "I've known her for … well, a _long_ time, and not once have I seen her like that."

"Zor ...", Arkee started softly.

"Oh, yes, of course", the blue male assured her, "I just wanted to say that I think she's having a positive influence on you, little fly. You grin a lot, but you hardly ever smile like that."

"C-can we get on with the business, now?", Arkee mumbled with a stronger blush and averted eyes.

"Yes, Crahsystor."

Zor snapped to a mocking military salute he didn't hold for longer than a moment.

"Alright, here's what we know", he continued with a more professional demeanour.

He turned on the holo projector and it displayed a map of the surrounding city section with the "hotel" at the center.

"About fifteen hours ago, automated recognition systems reported Jedi activity over here."

A blinking dot appeared over a section.

"Didn't think anything by it, arrogant bastards come down here, from time to time, looking for some criminal or other. Usually don't find him and leave."

"Let me guess, this one didn't?", Arkee suggested.

"No", Zor confirmed.

"In the past fourteen hours, she's searched most of the sections here, here, here, here and here."

The respective areas on the map lighted up. Large parts of the map turned red.

"That's quite a coverage."

"Indeed. Too close for me to ignore, too. Sent a guy with a mic to find out what she's looking for."

He pushed a few buttons.

"Excuse me, Mister?", a female voice asked, "I'm looking for a young Togruta girl. About this high, orange skin, small horns and funny tails for hair? Probably dresses in red, and – "

" _Funny tails for hair_?!", Ahsoka protested, "My lekku aren't funny tails!"

"I'm sure she was just putting it into terms the guy she was talking to could understand", Arkee offered, now with one of her typical grins.

Ahsoka crossed her arms and harrumphed.

"Funny tails. Pff!"

"Er … anyway", Zor continued, turning off the record, "I had her followed."

"Do we have a visual?"

"Negative. She's wearing that hood the Jedi seem so fond of and I didn't want to risk bringing anybody closer."

"So … why tell us?", Arkee asked, "If _that_ is how she's searching, she'll find nothing and will eventually give up and go back to the temple."

"That doesn't seem to be the case."

The Chiss pressed another button and a red path left the marked areas and slowly moved towards the centre of the map – towards the "hotel".

"If she maintains current speed and heading, she should be here in … less than 30 minutes."

"Are we prepared?"

"Of course, Crahsystor."

The holo changed to display the entrance hall.

"The girls are in place and we have a sniper here, here and here", Zor indicated some spots on the holo, "I also have some troopers standing by, but if the Jedi turns hostile, they won't be able to put up much of a fight."

"Well, if the greeting succeeds, they won't have to."

"Greeting?", Ahsoka asked confused.

Arkee smirked.

"Most guests who enter the _Heaven_ expect our girls to provide an experience that will give them sweet dreams for weeks. For Jedi, we skip the experience and go straight to the dreams."

"A narcotic?"

"A very quick one, at that. Our _dear_ Jedi enters, our girls start touching, one of them takes a syringe, and ..."

The Jedi won't feel the intention?

"If she's paying attention, she will", Arkee admitted, "Your run-of-the-mill Jedi, however, will be too busy protecting himself from the evil, evil human feelings our girls induce in _all_ our guests."

The pale Anzat grimaced.

"There are no tits, there is the fooooorce!", she mocked and Ahsoka couldn't suppress a smile.

"And if it fails?"

"Then we lock down the hall, flood it with nullifier and keep her busy until it kicks in and our snipers can get a clean shot."

"Nullifier?"

"The drug we used to temporarily numb our minds to the force."

"Ah."

"Not very creative, I know, Arkee shrugged, "But it allows us to refer to it by something easier to remember than its formula."

"By the way, where are Barriss and Crystal?", Ahsoka asked, looking around, "I would have expected them to join us for such a meeting."

"They are … busy", Zor answered hesitantly.

"What do you mean, _busy_ , Zor?", Arkee asked, "If we have a Jedi inc- "

Arkee stopped mid-sentence and grinned.

"Really?"

A bit confused, Ahsoka looked at her teacher who seemed honestly amused.

"Who'd have thought", Arkee continued, "You're right, better let them finish."

"Hello?", Ahsoka asked, "Have I missed something?"

"Oh."

Arkee turned to her orange pupil.

"Sorry, I forgot I never taught you how to pull images from other's minds. I'll have to correct that."

"You just read his mind?"

"In a manner of speaking", her pale lover admitted, "But its much easier because he offered the image willingly."

"W-what image?"

Arkee didn't respond right away but turned to the strangely silent Chiss next to them.

"Will you allow her, Zor?"

"If you think she can pull this off without reducing me to a slobbering idiot, sure."

Ahsoka's pulse quickened. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Crystal's father.

"Arkee, perhaps I should – "

"Oh, I'm sure she won't. If she simply looks at what you offer, there's absolutely no risk", Arkee cut her off.

"Go ahead, then."

"Now concentrate, darling, it's very similar to sensing other people's emotions. You just listen … deeper."

Still a bit scared, Ahsoka reached out for the strong Chiss' mind.

"Feel his mind, darling", Arkee breathed softly, "Feel how his thoughts swirl through his mind. Here, let me guide you ..."

Ahsoka felt Arkee's hand on her shoulder, then a silvery consciousness tugged at her own. Following it in the directions it tugged, Ahsoka carefully wrapped her own consciousness around Zor's and gently touched it.

Suddenly, she penetrated something. It was a bizarre experience, hard to describe. Like … falling into a lake and feeling every ripple of the water.

Images that meant nothing to Ahsoka appeared in her mind. Strange shapes and colours seamlessly merging into each other, ever changing, ever elusive.

"Good", her teacher continued, "You can see it, yes? The chaos of the humanoid mind, how erratic the thoughts are, how incoherent?"

"Yes … chaos", Ahsoka repeated slowly, "Nothing makes sense."

"That's because you aren't listening, yet."

"But … I did everything you – "

"Not to _me_ , darling, listen to the chaos."

Ahsoka tried. The chaotic images she had had in mind disappeared and voices took their place, a lot of voices, all talking at the same time, none understandable.

"I-it's still chaos", Ahsoka said.

"Yes … but some voices will stand out. Select one, listen to it only."

The room around Ahsoka changed. Arkee disappeared, so did Zor. The room was dimmed and red emergency lights bathed the scenery in blood.

 _WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

And the alarm was loud and persistent.

"Status!", Ahsoka roared in a voice much too deep for her own.

"Three-oh-sixteen, Sir", a younger male Human replied as he looked up from his control screen.

"Where are our snipers?"

"Two dead, third dying."

"Ground troops?"

"Wiped out."

"Nullifier?"

"Not affecting them yet."

Ahsoka cursed.

"Give me your gun", she demanded.

"Sir?"

"You heard me."

Ahsoka took the pistol from the other male with her muscular blue hand.

The next moment, she had already turned and was running upstairs as fast as her Chiss legs would carry her.

"Alright, that's enough, darling", Arkee said, "Return to us."

Ahsoka froze.

The stairs disappeared, she didn't have a gun in her small and orange hand, she wasn't running, there was no alarm.

Neither of them had ever moved.

"T-that was a thought?", she asked, still feeling adrenaline course through her veins and checking again that her arms were indeed still orange.

"A memory. You continue to surprise me, darling, most people start easy with surface thoughts, you directly went deeper."

"I … sorry, Zor", she apologised.

"No need to apologise", the smiling Chiss replied, "I didn't notice you were in my mind. Heck, I'm not even sure what you saw."

"Now, you start to understand why the Jedi don't teach that", Arkee remarked, "The invasion is absolute, any notion of privacy completely violated."

"But … he could have stopped me, right?"

"Yes. If he were a Jedi, his training would have protected him for a while, but as you know first hand, you can get past that. As a non-force-sensitive person, however, he must be aware of the intrusion or at least suspect it. The defence requires conscious effort and is both, simple and difficult. Zor, would you be so kind as to demonstrate?"

"Of course."

"Darling? Try again."

Ahsoka concentrated. It was easy, now that she knew how, and in a moment, the chaotic voices returned.

"I … I don't notice any difference."

"Pick a thought."

She did.

A much younger Crystal was dancing on a meadow, her pristine blue skin gleamed in the sun and her big ruby eyes glittered with joy. Of course, she had never _been_ on a meadow, but Ahsoka was happy her daughter could now at least enjoy the illusion of being outside. One day … one day, when it was safe, she would take her outside.

"She's beautiful", Ahsoka whispered.

"She is, isn't she?", Zor replied.

"I thought you don't know what I see?"

"Pick another thought, darling", Arkee interrupted.

Ahsoka hesitated a moment, then did.

Young Crystal dancing.

"Oh, sorry, I just saw that", Ahsoka said.

She quickly stopped and picked another voice.

Young Crystal dancing.

"What the ..."

She tried again.

Young Crystal dancing.

"They're all the same!"

"Yes, he's making an effort to think only about that one memory and his concentration is preventing you from seeing anything else. You won't get anything out of him unless you distract him."

"Distract him?"

"The Sith are fond of inflicting pain to that end. Personally, I prefer more … subtle methods."

Ahsoka thought back to their first encounter and how Arkee had lifted these naughty thoughts of her mind when she was tied to that table.

"Pleasure", she said, "That's how you did it."

"Indeed", Arkee confirmed, "I created a situation that your subconscious would link to a certain kind of memories, then while you were still confused about what was going on and trying to push away the pleasure I forced on you, I sorted through them. And believe me, I saw a _lot_ of juicy things."

Her young pupil blushed.

"R-really? You relived … many of … _these_ memories?"

"Heavens, no!", Arkee exclaimed, "In time, I will teach you how to extract the essence of a thought into a single idea. Until then, this will have to do."

Ahsoka sighed in relief.

"Alright, let's continue", Arkee said, "It all happens in your head so reliving the memories won't take much time. Still, we should get this over with quickly."

A bit reluctant, Ahsoka reached out and was greeted by a myriad of voices again.

"Now … one of these voices has the information you're looking for."

"How do I find out?", Ahsoka asked, "There are so many ..."

Her pale lover grinned.

"Well, if you want something, why don't you simply ask?"

"A-ask?"

"Go ahead, ask him."

"Er … what – "

"Not with your voice, silly!", Arkee interrupted, "What can you use the force for?"

For a moment, Ahsoka was unsure of what to do, then she thought about how she had been taught to communicate with animals. Perhaps it was similar?

She closed her eyes and projected her question in images to the old Chiss' brain.

The change was sudden, abrupt, some voices died down while others grew louder, though none could be understood. The young Togruta decided that _louder_ probably meant _more relevant_ , and selected the loudest she could find.

Ahsoka sat down in the communication chair and dialled up Crystal's room on the terminal. A Jedi was coming. She needed to make sure Crystal was well-hidden and the green traitor out of sight.

A moment after she finished dialling, the monitor in front of her sprung to life. She extended a finger to press the button that would let her speak … then she froze.

"Mistress!", Barriss moaned, "I love you, Mistress!"

"That's a good girl."

Crystal reached up and gently caressed the cheek of the more violent female who was vigorously humping her.

They were both naked, Ahsoka's daughter and her new friend, the green female that had saved Arkee, and they were quite obviously having fun.

Ahsoka stared at the screen, still a bit too shocked to do anything.

"Nnnnh ...", Crystal moaned as she leaned back, closed her eyes and let herself be taken by her eager friend, "You've learned quickly."

She gasped.

"Y-you're going to make Ahsoka _so_ happy."

"Thank you, Mistress!", Barriss replied happily, "I – "

Finally, Ahsoka's brain started working again and she quickly shut off the monitor.

Well, that was … unexpected.

A bit ashamed she had taken so long, she decided to dial up the Crahsystor and her _wife_ , the little flameskin. It seemed they had to do without the green one, this time, but at least her daughter would be … _safe_.

Ahsoka looked at Arkee, who was giggling.

"Oh, darling, if only you could see your face", she said.

"That … that really happened? I mean …", she glanced at Zor, "They really ..."

"Yes!", Arkee confirmed, half laughing.

Ahsoka looked at Zor, looked at Arkee, looked at Zor.

"I'm sorry", she apologised again, "That was so wrong of me. I – "

Zor raised a hand to stop her.

"If I had had a problem with your seeing what you saw, little flameskin, you wouldn't have seen it", Zor assured her.

"I was trained by the best, after all", he added with a wink towards Arkee.

"Tsk, flatterer", the proud Anzat teased, but she was smiling.

* * *

Ahsoka carefully weighted the sabres in her hands. She hadn't touched them since Arkee recovered; she had been too afraid that to pick up her weapons would invite another fight that might cost her lover's life for real, this time. That profound feeling of loss, the pain, the despair … she wasn't sure she could take that a second time.

Yet here she was, hiding just above the entrance hall, waiting for one of the damn Jedi to wreak havoc.

 _Bah, Jedi!_

The Jedi had been lying to her, there _was_ death and if they so much as _thought_ about touching Arkee again, she would show them how very wrong they were.

For a moment, the young Togruta's eyes flickered to a bright gold before they returned to normal.

"What's on your mind, darling?"

Ahsoka looked up and into the bright grey eyes she had grown to love so.

"Death", she whispered.

"Tsk, what a waste of a perfectly good thought."

Her lover gently pushed her against a wall and brought herself very, very close.

"You remember our wedding, darling?"

Ahsoka dropped her sabres and brought a hand up to caress Arkee's cheek.

"Like I will ever forget."

"You protested we won't live ten thousand years."

Ahsoka grinned.

"Well, we won't, will we?"

"No", Arkee agreed, "But that's unfair, don't you think?"

"I … I guess?"

"So … I've been thinking, darling. If we re-interpret these words and instead _make every moment worth ten thousand years,_ we're actually doing quite well."

Ahsoka chuckled.

"You're silly."

"And whose fault do you think that is?", her smiling lover replied.

Then finally, finally they kissed.

"Whatever happens, darling", Arkee whispered, "Know that I truly love you."

The young orange girl returned the smile … then a soft sniff caught their attention.

To Ahsoka's right, a bit at a distance stood Crystal, and behind her, Barriss – again clothed in the lavender maid thing she received from their Chiss friend.

"Oh, no, please don't mind me. Continue", Crystal pleaded with tears in her pupil-less red eyes, "It's beautiful."

"Crystal!", Arkee and Ahsoka exclaimed at the same time.

They detached from each other and coughed.

"How … how long have you been standing there?!", Ahsoka asked, feeling the blood rush to her head.

"Uhm … we came just when you dropped your sabres."

Ahsoka was burning.

 _Everything._ They had seen everything.

"Barriss?", Crystal addressed the green girl behind her, "Ahsoka dropped her sabres."

"Yes, mistress."

Barriss bowed and extended her arms as she did.

Slowly, the sleek hilts lifted off the ground and levitated up for Ahsoka to grab.

"Er … thank you", she said.

"I live to serve, my lady", Barriss mumbled.

A bit shocked, Ahsoka looked at Crystal who seemed both, proud and satisfied.

"Thank you, Barriss", she echoed, and the green girl reacted to her … _mistress'_ thanks with a happy smile.

Still bewildered, Ahsoka turned to Arkee who was broadly grinning.

She sighed, everybody around here was mad.

For some reason, the thought lifted her spirits.

It was a good mad, though.

"But what are you _doing_ here, Crystal?"

The blue girl tilted her head in question.

"Where else would I be?"

"But … you can't use the force … a Jedi assassin would – "

"Die", Crystal interrupted with a conviction Ahsoka had rarely – if ever – seen in a non-force-sensitive being about to take on a Jedi, "I don't care if I can't do magic tricks. They won't lay a finger on you."

Ahsoka was about to protest when Arkee chuckled.

"It really is a shame you aren't force-sensitive, Crystal, I'd have _loved_ to train you."

"So I can stay?", the young Chiss asked happily.

"Well, I won't be able to dissuade you, will I?", Arkee conceded, "Do you have a weapon?"

Crystal produced a small blaster pistol she had been concealing.

"And do you know how to use that thing?", Arkee asked.

"Point. Squeeze this thing here. Repeat until the enemy doesn't twitch anymore."

Ahsoka gawked at the young blue female in disbelief and suddenly felt very, very bad about letting her stay, but Arkee only laughed.

"Well, then. Shall we?"

* * *

They didn't have to wait long.

The Jedi was tall and she was a woman.

Everything else was hidden under a standard issue Jedi cloak and hood.

"Welcome, honoured guest", one of the two girls from the ' _welcoming comitee'_ started, "I am Sya."

"And I am Tya", the other introduced herself.

"You look weary", Sya continued as the both of them rushed forwards to get closer to the newcomer, "Will you be staying here for the night?"

"Yes", the Jedi replied, and Ahsoka couldn't help but think that the voice sounded familiar, "I've been looking for somebody for hours and I need some rest before I make my way back."

"I understand", Sya breathed.

"We know _all_ about relaxation", Tya joined her.

"Ladies … I'm not ..."

"Oh, she's beautiful", Tya exclaimed, "Look, Sya! This smooth skin! And these eyes ..."

"You're right, Tya", Sya purred, "We'll give her a _very_ special treatment."

"Please wait", the Jedi exclaimed, "I didn't come here to – "

"Are you saying we're not to your liking?", Tya asked, making an effort to sound honestly disappointed. She was now half behind the Jedi, snuggling herself into her.

"We can get you other girls, if you like", Sya offered, pushing herself into the Jedi from the other side, "Old girls. Young girls."

She lowered her voice.

" _Very_ young girls", she whispered secretively, "If you like them that way."

"T-that's against Rep– "

"Oh, and different species, too", Tya interrupted, "Did you know female Togorians go absolutely _crazy_ when you turn them on their back and rub their bellies while you ..."

She let her voice meaningfully trail off and laid her head on the Jedi's shoulders.

"Would you like to find out if I do too?"

"I … I'm sorry", the Jedi apologised, "I'm really just looking for a room to – what are you doing?!"

There were two shrieks and the girls that introduced themselvs as Sya and Tya were flung through the air and crashed against opposite walls.

Arkee cursed

"Move in", she whispered into her com device.

Moments later, the unmistakable hum of a Jedi's favoured weapon filled the air and clashed with the troopers' stun battons.

"So it's like that", the Jedi exclaimed calmly, "Please lay down your weapons and surrender. I don't want to hurt you and you are no match for a Shadow of the Order."

Ahsoka twitched back in surprise. One instant, she had been gazing at carefully evaluating silver eyes, the next she was staring into the bright-golden eyes of a dark-side user.

She hardly even _recognised_ her lover, so different did she feel in the force. At that moment, she envied Crystal. The blue girl was shuddering, too, but she didn't know the source of her feelings. Ahsoka did.

"Come, darling", Arkee hissed, "I want to destroy this abomination."

Ahsoka gripped her sabres more tightly and together, they stepped out of their cover.

"Die, assassin!", Arkee growled. She hadn't even bothered to draw her sabres, she just raised her arm and pure destruction exploded from her palms and shot at the now uncloaked figure with the purple dual-blade sabre in the form of lightning.

The blue Twi'lek Jedi managed to bring her blade up just in time to deflect the violent onslaught.

"Lucky, lucky, Jedi", Arkee mocked, now levitating a sabre into her hands, "I will enjoy ripping you to pieces."

"So you're the boss of these guys", the Twi'lek Jedi said as she knocked out the last two of Arkee's troopers that had still been standing, "Let's stop this violence. We can – "

"Fern?", Ahsoka asked confused, "What are you doing here?"

The Jedi named Fern raised her head and she, too, seemed to disbelieve her eyes.

"Ahsoka?", she asked, and lowered her sabre, "Is that y – "

Suddenly, the Jedi called Fern jumped aside, twirled back and pirouetted again.

Ahsoka noticed two tranquilliser darts stuck in the floor where Fern had stood just a moment ago. Apparently, the snipers had tried to use the Jedi's surprise to their advantage.

"Oh ...", Fern exclaimed as she sank to her knees. She had been a split-second slow in avoiding the third dart and it was now sticking in her right calf. She removed the dart with shaky hands, but it was much too late. In a last, silent question, she looked at Ahsoka, then collapsed.

"Lucky, lucky, Jedi", Arkee repeated in a cruelly mocking tone, "Looks like your death will be so much less painful than I wanted it to be."

She started walking down the stairs and towards the unconscious female Twi'lek.

"No, wait!", Ahsoka screamed, "I know her! She's not _that_ kind of Shadow!"

"So?", Arkee asked, her eyes still burning brightly, "She's a _Jedi_ and she's looking for you. I'm not going to let that kind of threat leave this building alive."

Her teacher-turned-sith kept walking.

"Little stupid Jedi", she continued, "Let your death be a lesson to your masters."

"Wait! Arkee, please!", Ahsoka pleaded.

" _None_ of you will _ever_ touch her again", the pale Anzat continued, completely ignoring Ahsoka, "Hasn't she suffered enough? Haven't _we_ suffered enough?"

Lightning sizzled up her the arm she was holding her sabre with.

She raised the other and the limp blue body levitated off the ground.

"And so, little _Jedi_ ", she snarled, "Goodb – out of the way, darling."

Ahsoka had positioned herself between the unconscious female and her teacher and was shielding the Jedi called Fern with her body.

"No!", she pleaded, "I can't let you do that ..."

"You are confused, darling, she is a threat, she _must_ be eliminated."

"She is a _friend_ ", Ahsoka insisted,"Please … for me?"

Arkee snarled and for a moment, for a very horrible moment, Ahsoka was afraid she would be simply swatted out of the way.

Then after an eternity, Arkee turned off her sabre and her eyes started to return to normal. Ahsoka sighed in relief.

"Hold me, darling", Arkee whispered weakly as she gently sat the unconscious female back down onto the ground, "I feel terrible."

Ahsoka rushed forwards and embraced her lover.

"Thank you", she whispered as she kissed the shivering pale woman on the cheek, "Thank you."

* * *

"So let me get this straight ...", Arkee said as she looked at the monitor showing the unconscious Twi'lek Jedi called Fern strapped to a table in much the same way Ahsoka had been when Arkee had had _her_ abducted, "You're telling me she's a Jedi from an age more than four thousand years ago, sent to our time by the means of a Sith device?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"That's the stupidest lie I ever heard. There's no such thing as time travel. And if the Sith had had such a device back then, they would have obliterated the republic long ago."

"I admit, I don't quite understand it either", Ahsoka admitted, "But the masters believed her, so I did, too."

"I don't trust quite so easily, darling", her lover said, then turned to Zor, "Casualties?"

"Surprisingly", the old Chiss reported, "None. I was expecting to lose at least half my men and both girls, but she's only knocked them out."

Arkee raised an eyebrow, then faced the monitor again.

"Fine, I'll give her the benefit of doubt. Let's wake her up. Crystal?"

"Yes?"

"One of the girls has just come to. She's asking for you."

"H-how can you ..?"

Some device on Zor's belt was beeping. He pressed a button.

"Yes?"

He looked at Arkee then back at his daughter.

"Syanssrin has just come to. She wants to apologise to you."

"Oh, Sya", Crystal sighed, "Tell her I'll be with her in a moment."

"That Force thing is seriously unfair, aunty!", she protested to Arkee, who was smiling, then she turned and started walking out of the room.

"Barriss? I might need a healer", she said, but didn't wait for an answer. The next moment, she was gone.

Almost automatically, Barriss turned and started walking.

"Barriss?", Ahsoka asked.

"I … I must go", the green girl mumbled, "The mistress – I mean, b-besides, Fern was looking for you, not me. She might not know I am here and if she doesn't, it may be safer not to let her know."

"She's your friend too", Ahsoka protested.

"I … I must go", Barriss repeated, "I don't think I need to worry about her when you're around, right?"

"But – "

Arkee laid a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"She does have a point, darling. All we really know is that this … _Fern_ was looking for you. Until we know more, it's best not to tell her anything."

Ahsoka looked at Arkee, then after a moment of hesitation, back at Barriss.

"Fine", she simply said, "You should hurry, your … _Mistress_ has quite a head start."

Barriss smiled – clearly relieved – and bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

And with that, she too left. Ahsoka watched her go, feeling very strange about Barriss' … _devotion_ to Crystal, but didn't say anything. She wasn't jealous, was she?

That would have been a pretty stupid thing to be jealous about… she had Arkee.

"Alright", her lover interrupted her thoughts, "Let's get this over with. Zor? Turn off the surveillance, please."

"Yes, Crahsystor."

The muscular Chiss pressed a few buttons and the monitors showing the captured Jedi went black.

"Here."

Zor offered Arkee two injectors – one filled with an orange liquid, the other with a blue one – and Arkee took them.

"Thank you. See if you can find out anything about her from our usual contacts."

"Already on it."

Arkee smirked.

"What would I do without you?"

"Ride the wind where it would carry you", Zor replied, returning the smirk, then he turned serious, "You be careful with the she-witch, little fly."

"I'm _always_ careful, my black monster."

Zor raised an eyebrow.

"Most of the time, I'm always careful", Arkee admitted.

She turned and started walking towards the door and Ahsoka followed her.

" _Most of the time, I'm always careful_?", she asked.

"Hush, darling", her lover replied, slightly blushing, "I know it's a stupid sentence."

Ahsoka grinned. It was rare, but beneath all that bravado and arrogance, there actually was a girly side to her _wife_ , and she loved it.

"I cannot help but notice a … tenderness between the two of you. Were you ..."

"No", Arkee said, "There was once a time when we could have thought about it, but that was before he met … well, Crystal's mother."

"What happened to her?"

"Oh, she's fine", Arkee said, "But you won't get to know her."

"W-why not?"

They took a left turn down a flight of stairs.

"She doesn't like … _us_."

"Us … you mean … Jedi?"

"Non-Chiss."

Ahsoka gawked at her lover.

"Don't blame her for it, darling, the sentiment is more common in Chiss society than you could know."

"But … but that's stupid!"

"And yet", Arkee insisted, "Not our right to judge."

"Crystal doesn't seem to share the sentiment, though."

"No, thank the Force, she doesn't."

Ahsoka smirked, thinking about how ' _not our right to judge'_ conflicted with the comment, but she said nothing.

"The way I hear it, they got into a huge fight over it a few years back", Arkee continued, "They haven't spoken to each other since."

They turned right and went into the room there.

The room was brightly lit, white and completely empty except for the mechanical table the Twi'lek captive was tied to.

Arkee walked up to the table and pressed some buttons, which tilted it into an upright position and she immediately pressed the injector with the orange liquid against the blue female's neck and administered the drug with a very loud click.

"You … you're not going to hurt her, right? Promise me you won't hurt her."

The pale Anzat said nothing and instead put the empty injector into a small bag on her belt.

"Arkee? _Promise_ me you won't hurt her."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Fine", Arkee eventually conceded as she took the other injector into her hand, "I won't hurt her unless she gives me reason to."

Ahsoka sighed in relief.

" _But_ ", her teacher continued, "I want you to stay out of her sight, for now. I will threaten her, lie to her, and If she truly _is_ your friend, I may be able to use her concern for you. I will pretend to be cruel, I will make her hate me – if necessary – but I will get my answers. And if at any time I get the impression she will try to hurt you, I _promise_ she will die an awfully painful death. Do I have _your_ word that you won't interfere?"

"I… ", Ahsoka hesitated, "I … won't interfere."

She took a deep breath.

"So long as you don't hurt her, I won't interfere", she repeated with a firmer voice.

"Good. Now since I can't hurt her, I'll have to distract her in … _other_ ways. Usually, I prefer it that way, but since she is a Shadow, I would have liked to make an exception."

"Other ..."

Ahsoka's eyes grew wider.

"You want to rape her?"

"Is that a problem? Because unless you have a better idea than pleasure and shame, I have absolutely no problem with hurting her."

"But ..."

Ahsoka bit her lip. It was one thing to be raped herself, she didn't mind that, not when it was Arkee ' _raping'_ her, but … letting a friend be raped … on the other hand, what if Arkee was right? What if Fern really was hiding something? She knew little about the blue Jedi, despite the fact they knew each other, because Fern had always refused to talk about her past. What if there was … a darker side to her? A dangerous side?

"Darling?"

"I … I understand", Ahsoka mumbled, "Just … remember she may be a friend."

"I will try."

Her teacher pressed the injector to the neck of the unconscious Jedi – just a bit above where she had pressed the first injector – and the blue liquid disappeared with another ominous click.

Then she extended a hand towards the unconscious Jedi and the next instant, Fern's clothes were ripped to shreds and the blue Twilek's body completely exposed.

A bit shocked, Ahsoka gawked first at her unconscious friend, then at Arkee, but her teacher didn't seem to be bothered at all.

"Now all we need to do, is wait."

And with that, she sat down into the air, using the force to keep herself upright.

A bit reluctant, Ahsoka walked behind the table and mimicked her teacher, wondering why this trick had never occurred to her.

They waited a while, then the Jedi called Fern started to stir.

"Ah, it's been a while since I last did this", Arkee said, "I forgot how much fun it is to watch them wake up. They look so innocent when they sleep, and when they come to, they get confused about where they are. They quickly notice they're tied down and then ... then they notice me."

Arkee grinned.

"Oh, I just love to see them squirm when they realise the totality of their failure, the panic in their eyes when they fail to touch the force – something that should be more natural to them than breathing – and the fear when they realise there is – absolutely – _nothing –_ they can do..."

For a brief moment, Arkee's eyes flashed golden, but the usual gentle silver quickly returned.

Ahsoka felt herself get goose bumps. Despite her lover's promise, there was a profound hatred filling the air, a desire to hurt, to break, to kill …

Fern moaned and opened her eyes, then very quickly started to frantically struggle against her bonds.

"Wakey, wakey, _Jedi_ ", Arkee greeted her.

"You!"

"Me ..."

Arkee grinned and her grin grew broader, the more frantic Fern struggled.

"Something the matter, _dear_ Jedi? A girl could almost get the impression you're not very happy to see her. That would make me very, _very_ sad ..."

Despite the situation, Ahsoka smirked.

"What have you done to me?!", the struggling Twi'lek demanded.

"Hmm … who knows."

Arkee shrugged.

"The more interesting question, my dear, is what I'm _going_ to do to you."

The grinning Anzat got up and deliberately slowly walked the short distance between where she had sat and where the tilted table was keeping the frantic Fern in an upright position.

She placed a hand below Fern's chin and – almost gently – forced her head up. Ahsoka felt anger rise in Fern.

"Let's have a chat, you and I", Arkee teased.

"G-get your hands off me!"

Fern tried to yank her head away, but the pale Anzat held her firmly.

"Who are you? What have you done to Ahsoka? And why am I naked?"

" _I_ will be asking a few questions and _you_ will be giving some answers. If I like the answers, nobody will get hurt. If I don't … well, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

She released Fern's head.

"Now don't glare at me like that", she teased, "You're a good Jedi, yes? There is no emotion, there is peace ..."

"Don't you _talk_ to me about being a good Jedi!", Fern snapped, "A Sith like you has no right to desecrate the code!"

"A Sith like me?"

Arkee chuckled.

"But I am no Sith, dear Jedi. I don't believe in a Code, not the Sith's and certainly not yours."

"Liar!"

Fern finally gave up on trying to break free and stopped struggling, breathing heavily.

"You disguise it well, now, but did you really think I'd believe you after that attack?!"

"Oh, that."

Arkee sighed.

"You Jedi and your limited view of the Force … I grow tired of correcting your ilk, so let's skip to the part where I ask the questions and you answer."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"That would be very unfortunate."

"Torture me all you want, I have _nothing_ to say to you!"

"How very brave", Arkee mocked, "And how very foolish."

Fern said nothing and so Arkee continued.

"First question: What is your name?"

Nothing. Fern remained silent.

Arkee sighed and took a small communicator from her belt.

"Zor? Would you please hurt Ahsoka for me?"

Ahsoka blinked, then twitched when she heard her own voice scream from the communicator.

"Aaaaah! Aaah! Gods! No! HEEEEEEEEE!"

"Wait!", Fern screamed, "Don't hurt her!"

"HEEEEEELP!", the communicator continued screaming, "No, please … HAAAAH!"

"I'm Fern!", the blue Twi'lek screamed, "I'm Fernopatrix Zire! Stop hurting her!"

"That's enough, thank you", Arkee said to the communicator and the screams stopped.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?", she asked with a broad grin.

"You … you _hurt_ her ...", Fern whimpered, "You … you hurt her for such worthless information ..."

"Ah, but the information wasn't worthless", Arkee disagreed, "Now I know you don't _want_ her hurt. I can work with that."

"You're a devil!", Fern sobbed, and Ahsoka actually felt bad for her, "Please … why aren't you hurting _me_?!"

"You want me to hurt you?", Arkee mocked, "What a masochist."

Fern gritted her teeth so hard, Ahsoka could hear them crunch.

"Do with me as you will, Just … please don't hurt her … please."

"Ah, the noble Jedi knight offers to sacrifice herself for the damsel in distress", Arkee sneered, "I was wondering how long it would take. You didn't last long."

She stepped closer and gently caressed Fern's cheek.

"But I don't _want_ to hurt you", little Jedi", she said, almost affectionately and despite the fact that Fern was quite a bit taller than she was, "In fact, I think I like you. So let me explain again … I ask questions, you provide the answers. If I am satisfied with your answers, I'll be nice to you. If not ..."

Arkee held up the communicator she had used.

"Well, let's say there is a little orange teen waiting nearby who would prefer you to be honest."

"I … I understand", Fern said softly.

"Do you? Let's see … Who sent you?"

"Nobody, I am here of my own volition."

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

"See how easy that was?", Arkee asked, then slid her hand down Fern's neck and over her large breasts, "Wow, you certainly have some very large knockers, are these fake?"

"N-no", Fern stuttered, "Why are you –"

" _I_ am asking the questions. You concentrate on your part."

The blue Twi'lek fell quiet.

"You were looking for Ahsoka", Arkee stated and started to massage Fern's breasts, "Why?"

Fern squirmed, trying to twist away.

"Could you please – "

"Why?", Arkee cut her off.

"I … I need to warn her … please – "

"Warn her about what?"

Arkee brought up her other hand and started kneading both of Fern's breasts.

"D-don't – about you!", Fern exclaimed.

"Me?"

"W-well, or somebody like you. Could – "

"Be more precise", Arkee interrupted again.

"M-master Kenobi came to me", Fern said, trying again to twist away from Arkee's touches, "He said … he wanted to know if I … if I knew where Ahsoka was, I didn't. So he told me people were looking for her … powerful Jedi, perhaps even a Sith … people who wanted to hurt her … or worse, turn her to the dark side …"

She hesitated for a moment.

"He … he said she had become a murderer … that he needed to … help her. That others were already in the city, looking for her."

Ahsoka's heart was beating faster.

Obi-Wan was looking for her … she had expected assassins to start sorting through the people that had known her when she had been at the temple, but … Obi-Wan? She didn't believe it. She didn't _want_ to believe it.

Arkee bent her head and brought her lips closer to Fern's breasts.

"W-what are you doing?!", the blue Jedi protested.

Her pale interrogator didn't immediately reply but instead suckled on the blue nipples for a moment.

"You've been honest", Arkee breathed when she looked up, and licked her own lips, "Honesty must be rewarded."

And with that, she continued caressing the blue buds with her tongue.

Ahsoka knew it was silly, but she was a bit jealous when Fern quivered from the gentle touches. Perhaps … perhaps she could get _'interrogated'_ by Arkee, when this was over? A bit of a roleplay?

"N-no", the Twi'lek begged, "Please … don't – "

"Were you followed?", Arkee asked

"P-please don't ...", the blue Jedi whimpered, "Please ..."

"Answer the question! Were – you – followed?"

"I … I don't think … who would … please stop ..."

"So you weren't followed?", Arkee repeated the question.

"No, I wasn't! I wasn't … please stop!"

But Arkee didn't stop. Quite on the contrary, she even stepped up the game.

"Next question", she continued, "What made you look here, of all places?"

"It wasn't a choice", Fern replied quickly, still trying to escape the pleasurable tickling in her nipples, "I just ran as far away from the Jedi temple as I could, then descended to the lower levels. Not quite the bottom, because life is really awful there, but low enough the order wouldn't be looking for me there. It's what I'd have done."

"You talk like you've done this before", Arkee commented.

"I am a faithful Jedi to the order … but I can understand why people would want to run away."

"Very good", Arkee praised her with a grin, "You deserve another reward."

Fern shrieked when her Anzati questioner pushed her hand into her nether regions and started massaging her in a very lewd way.

"No .. no! Please … I can't ..."

"Yes, yes, you can", Arkee assured her, then pressed herself close to the twisting blue female and started moving her hand in a more rhythmic way, "You've been very honest, _but_ I have more questions. Don't worry, so long as you're honest, this will feel _very_ nice."

Fern twitched, then started crying.

"Y-you don't understand … I mustn't remember … I can't … please?"

"Remember what?"

Ahsoka pricked her ears. Something Fern didn't want to remember? Or didn't want to reveal?

Either way, she was curious. This could either confirm they were friends or … confirm they were not.

"But you will remember for me, right?", Arkee asked, "After all, Ahsoka would be very, very sad if you didn't ..."

"Don't hurt her! Please … anything but that ..."

"Your precious memory is that important to you? More important than your friend?"

Arkee shook her head and sighed.

"Oh well", she said and took the communicator from her belt again, "Poor Ahsoka..."

"Wait! Don't hurt her!"

"Then show me what you are hiding!", Arkee shouted in a much more aggressive voice than she had used during the rest of the interrogation. She had stopped massaging the blue female and her mind was now clashing so fiercely with Fern's that even Ahsoka felt a small stab. The attack was meant to be a surprise, to catch her off-guard, and it was working.

There was a brief moment of silence, then Fern started sobbing.

Ahsoka felt the change in the blue Jedi, as did Arkee. Fern's emotions exploded into a storm and she shook and quivered while she continued crying.

"There is no emotion, there is peace", she started reciting, "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no chaos, there is harmony, there is no death, there is the force. There is no emotion, there is peace, there is no ignorance, there is knowledge, there is ..."

And on, and on, and on went the mantra.

Ahsoka saw the surprise on her lover's face. Clearly, she hadn't expected that.

"What are you ..."

She laid a hand on Fern's temple and closed her eyes.

"Show me ...", she mumbled.

"... no emotion, there is peace, there is no ..."

"Show me!", Arkee repeated a bit more forceful, then she grew quiet.

Ahsoka watched her teacher and almost held her breath until suddenly, Arkee's worried silver eyes snapped open.

Fern had never stopped reciting the Jedi code, and even now, she was semi-consciously repeating it over and over again in an eerie sing-song.

"By the force", Arkee exclaimed, then quickly pressed her hands against both of the chanting female's temples.

"Come back, child, you are safe!", she said softly, and the cold, threatening air she had surrounded herself with disappeared and became pleasant, gentle, almost motherly, "You are safe!"

"… there is the force. There is no emotion ..."

"Darling!", Arkee exclaimed, "Help me!"

Startled, Ahsoka sprang to her feet.

"W-what did you _do_ to her?", she asked, shocked when she saw Fern's blank expression.

"I made her remember", Arkee cursed, "She's remembering it … all of it."

The worried Anzat gently touched fern's temple.

"All of it", she whispered.

"All of _what_?"

"She was abducted as a child and made into a pleasure slave before she was rescued and recruited by a Jedi. She's reliving what they did to her when she was a slave."

Ahsoka looked at Fern. The tall Twi'lek still had a blank expression, but occasionally, her face twitched.

"I should have used electroshocks", Arkee continued, "It would have been less painful for her."

"You couldn't have known", Ahsoka offered.

Arkee grimaced.

"Is there nothing we can do?", Ahsoka asked.

"There is. You remember what I told you about the defence?"

"Concentrate on a single thing."

Arkee nodded.

"She's instinctively trying to do the right thing", Arkee said, pointing at the reciting Twi'lek, "No doubt, the Jedi know about her condition and trained her to do this to the point it became an automatism."

"So why is it not working?"

"Her ties to the code are too weak", Arkee explained, "She tries her best to be a good Jedi, but I've been in her brain and I saw a lot of emotions, desires, passions, things that directly conflict with the code and draw her to her memories, instead."

"M-meaning?"

Arkee gave her a grim smile.

"You were right, darling, she couldn't be the kind of Shadow I'm familiar with, but because of that, she's trapped."

"W-what can we do?"

"In principle, we're going to do the same. We must get her to focus on one thing, and one thing only that will draw her away from her memories. We just need her to focus on the right thing."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you're about to propose?"

Arkee grinned.

"Because you are a sharp little thing, darling."

She took two small disks from her belt and gave one to Ahsoka.

"What is this?", Ahsoka asked and carefully examined the smooth surface of the cool metal.

"Place it on the back of your hand like so", Arkee explained, putting the disk she kept onto her own right hand.

Ahsoka did and the small disk gently sucked itself to her skin. She shook her hand a couple times and confirmed it wasn't falling off, then looked at her teacher.

"Tap it's top", Arkee continued to demonstrate, "And ..."

"Whoah!", Ahsoka exclaimed. She had just tapped the top of the small disk as instructed and her whole hand had started to vibrate. She quickly tapped it again and as expected, it turned off.

"What … what are these?"

"Sex toys."

"Sex ..."

Ahsoka gawked at the small disk, then at Arkee.

"Seriously? She's like _that_ and you want us to rape her?", Ahsoka complained, pointing at the mumbling Fern.

"In her head, she's being raped right at this moment", Arkee insisted, "As you can see, her own attempts to stabilise herself are insufficient. Now, I can either fry her, give her pain until the pain becomes more prominent than her memories – something which at this point, I'm not even sure I _can_ do without endangering her life – _or_ we can break her focus on the code by pushing into the same direction her memories are pulling, _except_ we push her away from her memories and towards … you."

Ahsoka bit her lip.

"I can't believe what you're suggesting."

"I don't _like_ it either, darling, but I'm out of options. If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestions."

Hesitantly, Ahsoka looked at Fern who was still reciting the Jedi code over and over again.

She looked so helpless, so … innocent, and yet ... she could feel the pain fill her friend's mind, the desparation with which the blue Twi'lek fought a losing battle, the unheard screams for help … and for a moment, just for a moment, she wished she wasn't capable of feeling these things.

"Darling?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath and sighed.

"L-let's save her", she said and tapped the disk on her hand again to turn it back on.

* * *

Fern moaned softly.

"T-there is no – mmh – no emotions, th-eh – there I-is – oh!"

They had taken the blue Twi'lek Jedi down from the table and laid onto the ground.

Ahsoka was lying beneath her friend, hugging her from behind and massaging the large blue tits with both her hands.

They were soft, they were very, very soft – well, except at their tips; her nipples were rock hard.

"Talk to her, darling", Arkee suggested, "Let her hear your voice."

Her Anzati teacher was lying on top of Fern, hanging herself onto the blue hips and eating out the moaning Jedi.

"But … what do I say?"

Her teacher grinned. Of course she couldn't see her teacher, but she _knew_ Arkee was grinning.

"Talk dirty", she said, "Make her believe it is really you who is raping her."

"B-but ..."

"Come on, darling, I _know_ you've read an amazing amount of kinky literature when you were still a Jedi. I'm _sure_ there is something you can use amongst it?"

Ahsoka felt the heat shoot into her head.

"I ..."

She hesitated, then leaned her head closer to Fern's.

"Y-you like that, don't you, you f-filthy Jedi?", she whispered, "Look at how hard your nipples are. It's disgusting!"

And with that, she pinched the dark blue nipples that really were hard as rock.

"N-no", Fern moaned, "T-there is n-n-nh!"

"Such a s-s-slut", Ahsoka continued, vigorously kneading the large breasts, "I can't believe the order ever allowed _you_ to walk in their sacred halls."

"T-there is no p-p-passion", Fern stuttered, "There eeeeeh!"

"No passion?", Ahsoka interrupted and pinched Fern's nipple again and the blue Twi'lek twitched, "Who are you trying to fool with nipples like that?"

She pinched them again and was rewarded with another twitch.

"Hm? Who do you think you're fooling?"

And she pinched them again.

"Heeh!"

Ahsoka could feel pleasure spread from the blue nipples down into the soft body and from there into the Twi'lek's brain. This was exciting … really, really bad and twisted, but it was exciting.

"You filthy s-sow!", she said a bit louder, massaging the very tip of the blue buds with her vibrating hand, "Even your nipples stand at attention and beg to be touched."

Fern started squirming, trying to turn away from the pleasurable vibrations, but Ahsoka made sure she could not.

"Good, darling, she's reacting, keep going."

Ahsoka didn't need to be asked twice.

"Oh s-sure, _now_ you pretend to resist", she said to Fern, "But that's why the Jedi kept you around, isn't it? They only let you join them because they liked humping your huge tits and listening to the lewd noises you were making when they squeezed you, didn't they?"

"T-there is no – "

"Stop lying, s-slut!", Ahsoka interrupted her again, "You're no Jedi, you're a filthy Jedi-amusement toy with tits that are much too big. And right now, you're m _-my_ toy!"

"I … I'm a good Jedi!", Fern insisted, "I – ah!"

"I'm sure you're good at _fucking_ Jedi", Ahsoka continued, "You like fucking Jedi, don't you? Just how you will like being fucked by me!"

"N-no", Fern breathed, half moaning, "I'm a good Jedi … I …. mmmh!"

"Good Jedi my ass!", Ahsoka mocked, "Good Jedi don't moan like bitches in heat."

Fern groaned.

"P-please … ah!"

"Go ahead, moan for me, you filthy bitch", Ahsoka demanded and squashed the breasts of the heavily breathing Twi'lek.

"N-n-n-n-no … I … haaaah! Ah! Uuh!"

Fern's body shook violently, then she calmed down.

"Did you just ..."

"I'm a good Jedi!", Fern insisted, "I … I … hngh!"

And her body shook again.

"Stars, she's really enjoying this", Arkee commented, "I just stuck two of my fingers into her and turned vibration up a bit. Keep talking, darling, she's overflowing!"

"Y-y-you like that, don't you, you slut?", Ahsoka picked up where she had left off, "You just came for me, didn't you?"

"I … I'm a gh! A good Jedi! A good … good … nnnnnh!"

The blue female tensed up.

"Alright, come for me, _good Jedi_ , let me see you squirt your filthy fluids everywhere!"

And another quiver went through the Twi'lek above her.

"Ah … ah … A-ahsoka?", Fern asked, clearly out of breath, "W-what?"

"Good, darling, good! Let's give her another two orgasms."

"T-that voice!"

Fern wanted to sit up, but Ahsoka held her down.

"Oh, g-g-gods!", Fern breathed, "Get that thing out of me!"

She started squirming more violently.

"The vibrations!", she complained, "Ahsoka, help me! The vibr-ah!"

"Don't you worry about the vibrations, Fern", Ahsoka teased, "Be a good Jedi and come for me again, would you?"

"A-Ahsoka? W-what … nnh! W-why? How ..?"

"You're safe", Ahsoka assured her, "Now come for me!"

She kneaded the soft blue tits and felt how the vibrations Arkee shoved into Fern's lust cave travelled all the way to the blue Jedi's nipples.

"Ahsoka!", Fern exclaimed, "W-what … what …. whhhhhh – ah! Aaaah! No! Hh-aah!"

The blue body shook once more.

"The vibrations!", Fern exclaimed, "Please! Stop the vibrations! I can't … nah! Haaaaah!"

And again.

"Heeeeeh!"

But the vibrations didn't stop. Ahsoka kept attacking the very, very hard nipples and Arkee – apparently – wasn't done with Fern's lower half either.

"Y-you said two!", Fern babbled, "Two! I already – ghaah!"

"Two or twenty, what's the difference?", Arkee teased, "Let's give her another couple, darling, just to be sure."

"T-t-twenty?", Fern asked, "No, no, no, no, please! I can hardly – stop moving it around like – aah!"

Fern was trying to struggle, but reliving her memories had exhausted her. It was easy for Ahsoka to keep the much taller Twi'lek down.

"Please … I'll be a good Jedi", Fern begged, "I'll be a nice Jedi … I'll – "

"Shh, Fern", Ahsoka whispered, "Just one more, okay? We'll just give you one more."

"B-but – nnnnnh – I … Heh!"

And the blue female shook again.

"S-stop", she begged, "Ahsoka, make her stop! Make her stop! Make … ghah!"

But Arkee seemed to have no intention to stop.

"You said one!", Fern exclaimed, "You said just one m-m-oh!"

"I said no such thing", Arkee teased, "But you _can_ take one more, right? After all, you're so sensitive … "

"N-n-oh! Hehhhh!"

"Whoops, that was fast. Didn't count", Arkee complained, "I still owe you one more."

"No ..."

Fern's voice was weak, now, and she was breathing heavily.

"H-help me, Ahsoka … h-h-help …"

"Shh, Fern", Ahsoka whispered again, "Just one more, okay? We'll just give you one more."

"T-that's what you – nh!"

"I know, but just one more. That's the last one, this time."

"I … I … ghnh!"

Fern let out a soft moan and tried to roll away, but Ahsoka held her firmly.

"Good Jedi", she whispered to Fern.

Thoroughly exhausted, Fern but weakly smiled.

"Come to think of it, darling, she _was_ unconscious through the first half of what we did to her", Arkee commented, "Let's start over and do it properly, this time."

"You … you promised ..."

" _She_ did", Arkee admitted with a grin, " _I_ didn't."

* * *

"Seriously, you _deserve_ each other!"

Arkee chuckled and Ahsoka looked down at the ground.

It was a good thing that Fern was a gentle soul. Not everybody was so quick to forgive.

"You sure you don't want to stay, tall one?", Arkee asked, "It was fun."

"It wasn't – "

"Don't lie to me", Arkee interrupted, "Better liars have tried."

Fern was silent for a moment.

"I'm a Jedi", she eventually said, "I'm not supposed to feel these passions."

"Oh, _please_ ", Arkee exclaimed and rolled her eyes, "Don't turn sanctimonious on us. Life's too short to waste it with such nonsense."

"N-nonsense?! The Jedi code is – "

"You're wasting your breath, Fern", Ahsoka commented, "I sincerely doubt there is anything you can say that would make her reconsider her stance on this."

"But – "

Ahsoka shook her head.

"Let it go."

Fern sighed.

"Well, I should be getting back, before people start missing me. This ' _mission_ ' wasn't exactly sanctioned."

She extended her arms and looked at Ahsoka.

"Come here, Ahsoka."

The young Togruta hesitated a moment – surprised because Fern wasn't usually one to initate hugs – but then quickly stepped forwards and embraced the tall female.

"Are you _sure_ she isn't Sith?", Fern whispered, "If you need help ..."

"Don't worry, Fern", Ahsoka replied, "She isn't."

"Then ..."

Fern hesitated a moment.

"Well, if you're happy … l-let me just congratulate you, then."

She straightened back up.

"Do take care, Ahsoka. And if you see Barriss, do give her my best."

Ahsoka nodded. She had wanted to tell Fern about Barriss, but Arkee had convinced her not to. Even if the blue Twi'lek _was_ Ahsoka's friend, she might inadvertently let something slip. Barriss was safer the fewer people knew about her.

And with that, Fern turned and walked out of the "hotel".

"What, no goodbye hug for me?", Arkee asked with a grin, "I'm hurt!"

Ahsoka returned the grin.

"Zor?", Arkee talked into the com unit she had taken from her belt, "Any danger from her?"

"Didn't find much", the old Chiss admitted, "But from what I can tell, it about matches what little flameskin told us."

Arkee hesitated for a moment.

"Recall the snipers", she eventually decided, "We'll let this one walk away."

"As you wish, Crahsystor."

"Snipers?", Ahsoka asked reproachfully.

"I did not survive so long by being nice, darling", Arkee answered, "The only reason I even let her walk out that door are you."

"So why didn't you do it?"

Arkee blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't it have been simpler to just shoot her in secret and feign ignorance?"

Internally, Ahsoka chuckled when she saw the baffled look on Arkee's face.

Then her teacher overcame her surprise and grinned.

"Ha! You _are_ amazing, darling", she stated, "The option had occurred to me, but I wouldn't betray your trust like this."

Ahsoka went over to Arkee and hugged her.

"Thank you."

A bit stunned, Arkee hugged her back.

"You are rather proactive, today. What happened?

"Oh, I just felt like taking over, for once."

Ahsoka grinned.

"Which reminds me, what do you say we continue where we left off, this morning, and explore your newly-discovered weakness a bit more?", she teased.

Arkee's eyes widened.

"You … you want to do _that_ again?", she asked and she suddenly looked shy, "Er ..."

Ahsoka hugged her more tightly and looked up into the nervous silver eyes.

"Come on, it was fun. You were so cute and desperate."

"Uhm … "

Her lover blushed.

"I don't … mind", she said slowly, "Just – "

Then she froze.

"Looks like we need to delay that, darling", she commented in a much colder voice, looking past Ahsoka and at the entrance.

Ahsoka turned and froze as well.

"Come at a bad time, have I?", a voice she was all too familiar with asked.

"M-master ... Yoda ..."

Ahsoka gawked at the little green Jedi she had never expected to see again.

Her hands flew to her belt and but a moment later, her two sabres were filling the air with a humming promise of death.

* * *

A very excited Lucia put on a head-mounted display and turned it on.

"Sumy? How's that sync coming?"

"Almost … there", her blonde friend replied, and a moment later, the camera feed – along with a ton of unnecessary information the designers of the bloody things thought was helpful – appeared on the display in front of Lucia's left eye.

 _A new hunt …_

She was giddy, giddy, giddy, giddy, _giddy –_ that was bad, she needed to calm herself.

 _There are no emotions, there is peace._

Feeling her head become clearer, the brunette Jedi brushed her curly hair out of her face again and watched her two companions put on their own displays.

 _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

Lucia closed her eyes and listened to her heart. It was calm, steady.

She smiled as that calmness spread and filled her whole body.

 _There is no passion, there is serenity._

"By the grace of the Force", she said solemnly, "I mark Ahsoka Tano, traitor to the Jedi Order and to the Republic, terrorist and murderer, apprentice to the Sith and to the Dark Side. What say you?"

She looked at Sumia.

"May the force guide our blades", the blonde with the shiny green eyes offered.

Lucia looked at Ta'aan.

"May the force guide our blades", her scantily-clad but much more energetic friend agreed.

 _There is no chaos, there is harmony._

"So may the Force receive her and give her peace", Lucia continued, "Let our hearts be calm, let our hands be steady, let our minds be gentle."

She knelt down.

"We strike without fear."

"We strike without anger", Sumia said, and she too knelt down.

"We strike without hatred", Ta'aan continued, kneeling down as well.

 _There is no death ..._

"We are an empty vessel to the Force", Lucia offered. She extended her right hand towards her two companions and closed her eyes.

"We are the embrace of its love", Sumia continued, she too closed her eyes and touched Lucia's hand with her own.

"We are the touch of its compassion", Ta'aan added as she did likewise.

"We are the shadow cast by those who stand in the Light", Lucia concluded.

The next instant, the three females had already disappeared completely, as if they had never been there.

… _there is the Force._

* * *

 **Author's note: _  
_**

BOY, this has taken WAY too long.  
I'll try my best to release the next chapter more quicky than this one.  
For now, though, I simply hope you could enjoy this chapter despite the long break.

In the meantime, I have more images that my faithful readers (i.e. you) may appreciate:

1st, there is a commission "Gentle Touch" drawn by bakki from deviantart featuring Arkee, Ahsoka and Crystal:  
bakki . deviantart [dotcom]/art/Commission-Gentle-Touch-627812821

2nd, note that "Fern" isn't an OC I created but an OC created by "ObiwankenObie" who has asked for a cameo appearance for her as a way to remember the character. You see, Obie was well-known for the 3D renders of his Fern model. "Was", I say, because he's since given up modeling for personal reasons.  
However, before quitting, he's actually went and created a model of Crystal as he imagined her, and managed to do some test renders that he's allowed me to share with you. You can find these renders here:  
imgur[dotcom]/a/n30vH

Thanks to the artists.  
And if any of these links don't work for you (or if you prefer pdf versions of my fanfictions), just drop me a note and I'll set you up. =)


	9. Ch9 - Blades and Sacrifice

**A Fury in Orange and Silver – Ch.9: Blades and Sacrifice**

"Rude, it is", Yoda remarked calmly, "To greet with weapons, your old master."

Ahsoka didn't react. No, that's not right, she was reacting. Her body was reacting, but her mind was reeling. She was afraid. Every fibre of her body screamed to get away. She was shaking, sweating. Her body realised it long before her mind did: she was afraid. She was very, very afraid.

And yet, the stubborn Togruta girl did not move.

 _Why?_

That was the only question on her mind. The only question that mattered.

 _Why is he here? Why now? Why?_

The orange teen froze, her silver sabres raised protectively between her and her old Master. It did nothing to calm her down, but she would be damned if she lowered them.

"Master … _Yoda_ , I believe", Arkee greeted the unwelcome intruder,

"This is embarrassing. If only you had sent word. We would have prepared a … _suitable_ welcome."

She smiled. To others, she might have seemed calm, collected, perhaps a bit amused, even, but Ahsoka knew her well enough to feel her lover's nervosity.

"Ha!", Yoda made, "For big welcomes, too little I am."

He returned the smile. In stark contrast, his mind was calm, peaceful, tranquil. Ahsoka felt as if she were diving into an endless ocean and quickly retreated her mind.

If she had still been a Jedi, she might have found such a display of harmony, the complete absence of emotions commendable.

Now, however, it only frightened her even more. _That_ was what she was supposed to become like? How could a living being feel so … _void?_

He didn't fool anybody, though. Ahsoka _knew_ why he was here. She knew better than to trust her former master. She knew better than to trust a member of the council — a member of those giving the shadows orders.

 _Your assassins have failed._

Ahsoka gritted her teeth so hard it hurt.

 _Your assassins have failed, and now you've come to finish the job._

And he quite possibly could do it, too.

 _I won't let you._

Yoda, must not have noticed the change taking place in his former pupil, for he continued with the same _mockingly_ gentle voice he had addressed them with before.

"Still", the green creature said, "Happy I am, to find you unharmed, Ahsoka Tano."

 _Wouldn't want anybody else to kill me, eh?_

Ahsoka glared at the green Jedi who, however, turned to her new master, instead.

"And honoured I am", Yoda added, "To finally meet the 'Witch of Coruscant'."

Arkee chuckled.

"'The _Witch_ of Coruscant'?", she asked, clearly amused, "Have they been telling stories, again?"

"Yes, stories."

Yoda nodded.

"Of a pale witch, wrapped in magic gold hair … and another, with skin kissed by fire."

He smiled at Ahsoka, but the orange Togruta frowned.

Why was he not attacking? What was he waiting for? Why was he acting so friendly? What did he get out of this … _smalltalk_?

And why was Arkee playing along?

"How did you find us, Master Jedi?", Arkee asked.

Yoda kept looking at Ahsoka for a moment longer, then sighed and glared at Arkee.

"A disturbance in the force, I felt", he explained, "Dark, powerful, very close."

"This is embarrassing", Arkee commented, but neither her tone nor the arrogant grin on her face indicated she meant it, "You caught me at a bad time. I was in bit of a foul mood."

"Yes, regrettable, that is", Yoda agreed. His voice was a tad colder. Not much, but definitely enough for Ahsoka to notice.

"Felt Ahsoka Tano, I have, when close enough I was", he said, then looked around as if he was searching for something, "Felt her friend, too, I have."

So ...

The Jedi knew. Of course he knew. Right now, he must be able to feel Barriss just as keenly as if she were standing right next to him.

Ahsoka shivered.

Yoda had not only turned herself over to the Republic, he also handed Barriss for her execution.

So if he knew and was here now …

"I won't let you."

It was barely more than a whisper; neither her former master nor her new had heard it, but both felt the sudden change in the orange teen.

A cold change, a cruel change.

The force twisted and twirled around the frightened Togruta, singing silent promises of death.

The next moment, she had already leapt, bringing both her sabres down on the little green Jedi with all the might she could muster.

"Much anger there is in you", Yoda remarked calmly as he effortlessly swatted Ahsoka's sabres aside. He had drawn his own sabre — so fast it could just as well have materialised in his hand — and Ahsoka gritted her teeth when her silver blades missed their target. But she didn't waste any time.

Flowing from position to position, she fluidly moved into a series of thrusts. Her sabres were quick, her form was perfect. Yoda was quicker. Belying his age, he jumped and twirled and dodged, effortlessly parrying the blows he could not avoid.

"Hatred, mistrust, fear", he continued, content with being on the defensive, "Dangerous these emotions are."

Ahsoka grimaced. Her old _Master_ may pretend to care, but she knew better. The little green annoyance's empathy was no more real than his need for a cane that he so liked to fool others with. It was a lie. Just like her _training_ had been a lie. She was _done_ listening to the hypocrite.

"I'll show you dangerous!", she roared as she tried to cleave the surprisingly agile deceiver in two, "Why can't you damn Jedi just leave me alone?! What does it take to get rid of you?!"

Yoda parried her blows a couple times more, then force-pushed her back. Ahsoka sailed through the air, flipped and landed low, growling in frustration. The force was pulsing around her and her blood was boiling with rage. She remembered, she remembered how unjustly she had been treated, how they had wanted to hurt Barriss, how they had wanted to hurt Arkee — how they would have hurt _her_ if they hadn't caught Barriss.

"Hurt me, this does", Yoda remarked, sounding and looking every bit the pathetic old man he was, "A bright Padawan, you used to be."

Ahsoka snarled.

"Yes, I was a naive goody-good bimbo", she snapped, "I _adored_ you guys, I looked up to you like every other little child abducted and brainwashed into your club."

She threw one of her sabres. But the force-enhanced throw was deflected with barely a wrist movement at all. She didn't care.

Her eyes took on a dangerous gold as she pointed her now empty hand at the little green Jedi.

"I am your pet no longer", Ahsoka declared firmly, "Now get out of my life."

Blue bolts of lightning shot across the room. She didn't hold back anything, she released it all on the much smaller creature. It had started as a simple fear for her friend, but by now, she was both angry and disgusted by the very presence of her former teacher and she wanted it gone.

"You and your _damn_ Jedi with your _damn_ assassins and your _damn_ high-and-mighty attitude, get _lost!_ "

The lightning swelled to a veritable storm. Ahsoka's fingertips were going numb and the rest of her arm was hurting, but it didn't bother her. She wanted the irritable Jedi Master gone, and if she had to lose an arm for it, so be it.

But Yoda just stood there, one hand raised, and took the full onslaught of her attack head-on. The lightning … _bent_ into his little green palm and was harmlessly absorbed.

Eventually, Ahsoka stopped - she had to; she felt weak. Her body was aching, she could barely feel her hands and she was sweating.

But Yoda … Yoda seemed no more affected than if she had blown him a kiss. This was disappointing.

She force-levitated the sabre she had thrown back into her quivering hand and the silver blade sprung back to life with a sinister hum.

"Powerful, you have become", Yoda remarked, taking half a step back.

To an outsider, he might have looked sad. To Ahsoka, he just looked pathetic.

"Powerful ... and dark."

The old Jedi master looked up into Ahsoka's eyes.

"Spoke very highly of you, Master Kenobi did. Believe in you, he does."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. It hurt being reminded of the people she liked, and she had liked Master Kenobi, despite his being a much more ... _boring_ character than her Anakin.

"Want to believe him, I do", Yoda continued, but he gripped his sabre with both hands, now in a clearly offensive guard.

"Yes …", Ahsoka answered weakly, "You _believe_ in those who follow your credo and kill those who do not. _Disgusting._ "

She crouched, ready to jump at her old Master. This would end. It would all end now.

"Darling, cease."

The voice was calm, but it cut through the darkness surrounding her like a beam of light. A warm light, a gentle light. Ahsoka hesitated.

"But — "

"Cease", Arkee repeated, "Focus. You are in command of your emotions, not the other way 'round."

 _I_ am _in control._

Ahsoka snarled.

What did Arkee know? Could she not see she was doing this for her sake, too? Could she not see the little Jedi needed to die? Could she not …

The young Togruta stared into her lover's eyes, full of anger. And the gentle grey eyes stared back, unflinching, unyielding. They were such beautiful eyes.

Slowly, Ahsoka allowed her body to relax. She backed away from Yoda who was watching her with some interest but had not yet made a move.

She backed away from the Jedi and towards her lover. Only then did she lower her sabres and turned them off.

"I'm proud of you, darling", Arkee whispered, then kissed the tired Togruta teen on her montrals.

Ahsoka turned and hugged her pale Anzati lover.

She felt so warm … Arkee felt so warm and comfortable Ahsoka almost forgot about Yoda.

Almost.

Still, she snuggled into the white being and sighed. And while Arkee hugged her small orange wife, she kept eye contact with Yoda, challenging him to make a move. He didn't.

"Nullifier?", Ahsoka whispered after kissing Arkee on the cheek.

"We're too close", her lover whispered back, "And he's strong. If he resists just a fraction of a moment longer than I, we'll be helpless."

"Then …"

Arkee smiled.

"We'll think of something. And if we can't, Zor will."

Ahsoka exhaled.

Zor … yes, he must know, by now. The old Chiss had cameras all throughout this "hotel". He'll think of something, they just had to buy him more time …

"Don't give up just yet", Arkee complained with a grin, "We can take him on even without drugs."

Surprised, Ahsoka looked up into the grey eyes she learned to love these past months.

Her own assault on Yoda had been rough but forceful and it had achieved absolutely nothing.

And yet her teacher believed there was a way they could get out of this?

"Feel a strong bond between the two of you, I do", Yoda finally interrupted, "Fear for you, Ahsoka does."

Arkee looked down at the old Jedi. She seemed disgusted.

"Ah, yes, I should have known", she commented, not even trying to hide that disgust, "The most your _ilk_ can see in such connections is fear."

She ended the embrace and stepped in front of Ahsoka, glaring at Yoda, as if she wanted to burn right through him, but neither of them made any move to attack.

"Please tell us why you've come, _Master_ Jedi, and then leave."

Yoda hadn't turned off his sabre and now pointed it at Arkee.

"Fear, Anger, Hatred, on a dark path, taken young Tano, you have", he said, "Release her, you will."

Arkee raised her hands defensively.

"If at any time, " _young Tano"_ gets tired of me, she's welcome to walk out of the very same door you intruded through."

She lowered her hands and glared at Yoda.

"Unlike _some_ , I _promise_ not to send any assassins after her."

The gentle eyes grew cold and stern and for an instant, a golden fire burned in them, but the instant passed so quickly Ahsoka wasn't sure it had even happened.

Arkee smiled and let go of Ahsoka.

"But if she decides to stay", she said, as she slowly walked around her Togruti lover and towards the small Jedi, "There's no power in all the universe that can take her from me."

Yoda eyed the approaching Anzat with suspicion. So far, she hadn't even drawn her sabre and shown no sign of aggression, so striking her down would be very much against the Jedi code.

Or that's what Ahsoka told herself to calm her wild heart.

Yoda had been right about one thing: she _was_ afraid.

Not for herself, but for her lover, for her friends. She _couldn't_ let the Jedi hurt them. She couldn't.

But she was so weak, right now, so weak … and it frightened her.

Yoda must have noticed.

"What done to her, you have?", he asked in a worried voice.

Arkee didn't let that stop her approach. She kept walking towards the Jedi master, completely ignoring that he had a lightsabre out and humming.

"Well, let's see …"

She grinned and started counting on her fingers.

"I had her abducted … I tied her up and raped her … I drugged her … then raped her while she was still drugged … I beat her up … I threw her off a tower … I taught her about the Dark Side … I made her a murderer _and_ a terrorist … and a rapist, too …"

She turned her back to Yoda, ignoring the possibility that he might stab right through her.

"Darling, have I forgotten anything?", she asked playfully.

Ahsoka – her eyes now fully back to normal – finally smiled.

"Y-you gave me strength when I was weak", she continued the list, "You gave me comfort when I hurt, help when I needed it, love when I was alone ..."

She blushed.

"… and when I wasn't", she mumbled. Suddenly, her cheeks felt hot, and it was distracting her.

"You … you gave me a …"

Too embarrassed to continue, she looked down at the ground.

 _A wife._

Her lover – grinning broadly – turned again and faced Yoda. She was close, now, so close a flick of his hand would kill her, but she didn't seem to care.

"And there you have it, _Master_ Jedi", she said as she knelt down in front of him, "She's here completely voluntarily. There's no _hold_ on her, no _brainwashing,_ no _coercion_ , no nothing. She's here because she _wants_ to be here. And so long as she wants to be near me, I'll defend her to my dying breath."

She reached forward and touched the old Master's cheek with her hand. Yoda's hand lowered and he turned his sabre off, then her silver eyes burned into his and for a long while, neither of them moved or said anything.

Ahsoka hardly dared to breathe. She saw Arkee's concentration, she knew what she was trying to do. Sweat started to run down her lover's face, but still, their eyes remained locked. Could … could she actually succeed? Ahsoka had no doubt Arkee's abilities to penetrate mental defences — both with her species inherited skills as well as the force — were powerful. But this was Yoda. This was the most powerful Jedi Master alive — or at least that's what everybody back at the temple said — he would be formidable, too.

"Beautiful, you are", the old Jedi eventually broke the silence, and Arkee smiled.

"I am, aren't I?"

The sabre on her belt detached itself and slowly, silently levitated behind her green prey.

"Do you like me?", she breathed, caressing Yoda's face with both her hands, now.

"Love you, I do", Yoda said softly. The old Jedi dropped his sabre and raised the hand to Arkee's cheek. The pale Anzat grinned.

Ahsoka watched the surreal scene with surprise. The sleek hilt behind Yoda positioned itself. If Arkee turned it on – her heart beat more strongly – if Arkee turned it on, the blade would pierce her old Master's heart. Could … could it really be so simple?

"But ….", Yoda continued as he gently touched Arkee's cheek, "Love you more, would I, if get out of my head, you would."

Surprise flickered over Arkee's face, then the force in-between her and Yoda exploded and she flew backwards away from him. Her sabre dropped behind the old Master and she recalled it to her hand as she landed.

"You do live up to your reputation, Master Jedi", she remarked.

"Ha!", Yoda made, " _Old_ , am I, very well acquainted with my feelings. Easy to tell them from strangers, I think."

"Maybe so", Arkee countered, turning on her sabre, "But I still won't let you take her."

"Corrupt her further, you will not", Yoda insisted. He too had picked up his sabre and turned it on again, "Committed crimes, she has. Answer to the council, she will. But first, rid her of your influence, I must."

"Over my dead body!"

To everybody's surprise, the shout had been neither Arkee's nor Ahsoka's.

It had been Crystal's, who came running, and she brought Barriss – in her lavender maid dress again – and half a dozen scantily clad women carrying high-performance blaster rifles. Ahsoka recognised none of them, but no doubt, these were usually "workers" here in this "hotel".

Wasting no time, the young Chiss girl split up her women into two groups of three and sent them to opposite ends of the hall. No sooner had she given the order than it had already been carried out. Interestingly, not only did the girls never hesitate, they also showed absolutely no fear of Yoda, even though Ahsoka felt nothing of the force in them. Instead, they silently took their positions and aimed their rifles at the little green Jedi who had not moved at all.

"Unnecessary, this is", Yoda insisted, "No harm I mean you, lower your weapons, you can."

Ahsoka felt the strength with which her old Master tried to mind trick Crystal's girls wash over them and was honestly surprised when neither of them showed any indication to follow his suggestions.

" _I_ will be the judge of that", Crystal simply said as she took her position next to Ahsoka, never letting the green Jedi out of her pupil-less red eyes.

A bit behind her, more afraid of the little green guy than her Chiss "Mistress", stood Barriss. She had drawn her sabre but hadn't ignited it, unsure of what to do.

Why? Why were the both of them the only ones afraid of Yoda? Was it because they knew how powerful their old Master was? Or was it...

Ahsoka glared at her former teacher and her mind grew cold.

Or was it because they had been indoctrinated, at the temple? Taught how mighty and powerful and whatnot the great and wise Master Yoda was?

"Barriss Offee", Yoda exclaimed, sounding the gentle teacher she had once thought to know, "To see you alive, warm my heart, it does."

"Liar!", Ahsoka snapped, "You were the ones who delivered her to the scaffold!"

"Make the Republic laws, the Jedi do not", Yoda replied, "Wish for her death, I did not."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth.

"And yet", she objected, "You knew. You _knew_ and you did _nothing_."

"The Jedi – "

"I'm sick of the Jedi!", Ahsoka screamed.

The scream echoed and eventually faded. After a long silence, Yoda sighed.

"When look into your heart, I do, turmoil, I find", he eventually said, "Beware of your emo.-"

"At least I _have_ emotions!", Ahsoka interrupted, half shouting, half crying, "Do you have _any_ idea how much of a relief this is? Finally being able to be _honest_ with myself?!"

"Being able to murder innocent people?", Yoda asked, "A reason, there is, why teach restraint, we do."

"Restraint?"

Arkee grimaced.

"Restraining bolt, more like. When you take little children from their families, you … _teach_ them to deny themselves everything that makes them sentient beings. You cripple them, twist them so they fit your doctrine of the force and you brainwash them into accepting their pitiful existence."

She sneered.

"It's disgusting."

"Hear the source of your confusion, I do", Yoda said to Ahsoka, "Twisting your thoughts, she is. Beg you, I do, to come with me."

"No, Master", Ahsoka said weakly, not noticing the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, "Please … just ... _go_."

Yoda looked sad.

"Do that, I can not", he said, "If being corrupted, you are, dangerous, you will become. Stopped, your new Master must be."

"Then ...", Ahsoka said softly, "I have no choice ..."

She dropped into a battle stance and turned on her sabres again.

A bit hesitantly, Barriss followed suit.

"Goodbye … _Master."_

Before they could leap at their old Master, though, Crystal stepped forward and extended her arms, shielding them both from Yoda and at the same time holding them both back.

"You are not welcome here, wizard", she calmly addressed Yoda, "These are my friends and I will _not_ let you hurt them. Turn around and walk away."

She had spoken softly but with an authority that left no doubt that she expected her command to be followed. And the sheer absurdity of an unarmed girl stepping between three lightsabres and giving commands to either of them rendered everybody speechless. They all gawked at the bold blue girl with the shiny red eyes.

Then Arkee grinned.

"Hm … an interesting child, you are", Yoda eventually commented. He hadn't moved at all, just looked at the Chiss girl with curiosity, "know your name, however, I do not."

Crystal, however, did not reply. She just stood there and stared daggers at Yoda. When the old Jedi Master didn't seem to have any intention of leaving like she had told him to, she spoke again – but not to him:

"It seems our _guest_ has some trouble finding the door", she commented, sighed and lowered her arms.

"Please show him out."

Ahsoka twitched. Crystal had spoken in the same soft voice in which she had talked to Yoda. Yet the reaction from the girls with the rifles was instantaneous and completely took her by surprise. No sooner had their blue mistress stopped talking than a deadly shower of red bolts rained down on Yoda – who, however, just stood there, a hand raised, and deflected all shots fired at him with nothing but the force. Instead of ending his life, the bolts bent around him and crashed into the ground, a wall, or the ceiling, leaving ugly black marks but doing no real damage, otherwise.

"Pointless, this is", he said.

With another flick of his hand, the rifles flew out of the girls' hands and landed on the other side of the hall.

"Annoying, these crude things are", he commented, as if he had shooed a fly, then sighed, "And getting too old, I am, for – "

He turned around just in time to parry Arkee's sabre. The pale Anzat had used Crystal's attack as a distraction to get behind him and was now launching a series of sophisticated strikes that would have diced lesser beings – but Yoda was no lesser being.

Although taken by surprise, it took him only a couple of strikes to regain even ground with Arkee – enough for Crystal to hand-signal her girls.

Silently, they pulled out sleek hilts from beneath what little clothing they were wearing and with audible clicks extended them into thin vibro-swords. Without saying a word, they rushed forward to engage the small green Jedi.

Usually, they wouldn't be much of a threat to a Jedi, Ahsoka realised. She couldn't feel much of the Force in either of them. But with Arkee keeping him busy, Yoda didn't have much of a margin for errors. Yet interestingly, he hadn't killed a single one of them yet. It wasn't that he _couldn't_ , Ahsoka knew, he just _chose_ not to despite the overwhelming odds against him.

 _Fool. Arrogant fool._

Ahsoka glared at her old Master as she observed all this. She hadn't leapt at him yet. Why not? Why was she hesitating? They wouldn't get a better chance to rid themselves of the annoying green preacher. She glanced at Barriss who, like her, had hesitated.

That's right. _Barriss_.

If she got caught again, there'd be no second rescue, she'd be executed and treated as fodder for the Republic war propaganda.

She couldn't let that happen.

Ahsoka nodded at Barriss, that was all it took to dispel their stupor and together, they jumped into the fray.

* * *

"That blue girl is scary", Sumia remarked.

Lucia couldn't see her blonde friend. Of course she couldn't, that was the _point_ in using the force to bend the light around themselves. But the head-mounted displays they were wearing came with microphones and short range transmitters. So if she could hear her, she must be close.

"But Tano looks like fun", Ta'aan added. The half-Cathar didn't try to hide any of her excitement. "Did you see that lightning?"

"I'm more worried about her new Master", Lucia commented and zoomed the video feed on the small display in front of her left eye in on the agile woman with the long pale hair who was keeping Yoda at bay, "I get a weird feeling from her."

"Yeah, she is strange", Sumia agreed, "But does it matter?"

"Not at all, our orders were clear."

"So … how are we gonna do it?", Ta'aan asked, hiding nothing of her excitement, "I want to play with Tano."

"Tsk, you always were the greedy one, Ta", Sumia commented, calling Ta'aan by the nickname she hadn't used in ages, "I ... I'll give the blue one a hickey and then move on to Offee. They came together, they probably will remain close."

"Who's greedy now, Sumy?", Ta teased.

"The blue one is not a target", Lucia protested, "And there's nothing of the Force in her."

"She is a _threat_ ", Sumia insisted.

"She is a _civilian_. The masters were clear on civilian casualties."

There was a brief silence,

"Fine, fine, I don't care, then", Sumia caved in, "Which one do you want?"

Lucia glanced at the pale woman who just twirled on the display and struck with an elegant blow that was, nevertheless, hard enough to force the old Master back a step.

"The master", the brunette Shadow said with a smirk, "She's intriguing."

"That means I'll go after Offee", Sumia concluded, "Just to be clear, I _am_ allowed to kill the blue one if she tries to interfere, right?"

"If she tries to _kill_ you", Lucia corrected, a bit confused, "What's wrong, Sumia? I shouldn't need to explain this to you."

Nor had Sumia ever been that bloodthirsty. In fact, it had often been _her_ who cautioned against civilian casualties and made sure that _Ta_ didn't go on a crazy killing spree.

"She's just bored"; Ta offered, "I can understand. She's always been more skilled than me and even _I_ haven't had a proper challenge in _years_!"

"Sumia?", Lucia asked, but it took another long moment for her friend to reply.

"I just … don't like her", Sumia said hesitantly, "Somebody who will step in front of her bloodthirsty Sith friends and face a Jedi Master unarmed, then orders him killed without so much as batting an eyelid is trouble. I'm getting an uneasy feeling about her."

"You're a worrywart, Sumy", Ta teased, "Without the Force, what's she gonna do, _glare_ at you?"

"Still, I'd feel a lot better with her out of the way", Sumia insisted, "Just to be sure."

"We are _not_ killing bystanders unless they pose a _direct_ threat to either ourselves or the mission", Lucia said slowly, " _That_ is what we've been taught and I expect you – _both_ of you – to honour it."

"I know", Sumia sighed, "I know ..."

The exchange left Lucia pondering. Had Sumia changed more than she had wanted to acknowledge in the years they had been separated? She couldn't deny that she had been just as surprised as her blonde friend when the Blue female stepped in. Why had she been so calm? Did she have a secret that she had successfully concealed? Or maybe —

"So … are we going in?", Ta asked impatiently, and Lucia dropped the thoughts. It was no use to keep pondering.

"We have orders to wait until Master Yoda has left", Sumia lectured her, sounding like herself again, "You would _know_ if you had bothered to _remember_ what you're told."

"Aww …"

Ta sounded disappointed.

"I hope Master Yoda doesn't kill them, that wouldn't be fun."

"Don't worry, Ta", Lucia offered, "He may kill the other girls and perhaps the Master, but he won't kill his old pupils. His heart is too soft."

"You don't sound very worried that he might steal your trophy", Ta commented.

Lucia grinned and looked at the pale woman on her display.

"I'm not. Master Yoda is powerful, but so is she. I don't think he'll be able to hurt her when he has that many other blades to worry about."

"Speaking of which… I don't get it", Sumia analysed, "Why _doesn't_ he just kill the girls with the vibro-swords? He's had several opportunities to and it would make his fight much easier."

"Hmm... perhaps he's bored too?", Ta asked, "I mean, all that time sitting around and meditating, playing the walking fount of wisdom to all the Jedi... it's gotta be boring, right? Perhaps he's just happy to finally get some time to play."

Lucia smiled. That 'explanation' was so much like Ta.

"Ta", Sumia exclaimed, "He's one of the wisest Masters the Order has. He has _responsibilities_."

And she went on to list them, the responsibilities of one of the wisest Masters the Order had, and why they were important. Yup, and that was Sumia.

"Being wise sucks", Ta commented when Sumia was finished, and Lucia was sure her half-cathar friend had only counted the things Sumia had listed and decided that they were too many. That too was like Ta.

Still, she felt a pang of regret. She had missed the both of them more than she had realised. They had tried to keep contact, of course, but that hadn't been the same and their masters had been very thorough...

Was it okay to miss people? She wasn't getting too attached, again, was she?

She banished these thoughts and forced herself to focus on the task ahead.

"He doesn't want to alienate Tano", Lucia joined the argument, "The Masters were right, Master Yoda is not only incapable of killing her, he never had any intention to."

That made her a bit – well, not angry, of course, but she didn't like it. How could the most powerful Jedi Master she knew of simply _not_ do what was required out of personal feelings? Had the Jedi become that weak?

"Master Yoda is a fool", Ta remarked, causing Sumia to gasp, "If Tano could still be saved, the Masters wouldn't have sent us."

"Indeed, it's disappointing", Sumia agreed, "But you can't call him a _fool_ , Ta, it's disrespectful!"

"Sorry, Sumy", Ta apologised half-heartedly, "I forgot you love the old guy."

"I don't – "

"Nyah, nyah! Of _course_ you don't."

Lucia smiled. She imagined if they could see each other, Ta would now be spiked by Sumia's infamous glares. Force, she had missed them so much …

Lucia shook her invisible head. No point in getting nostalgic.

 _There are no emotions, there is only the Force._

"Let's start checking this place's defences", she interrupted, and her friends immediately fell silent. They might have enjoyed their playful argument, but they knew as well as she that the mission _always_ came first, "We're looking for anything that will give us undetected access after the fight has ended."

* * *

"Hah! Difficult an enemy, you are", Yoda said, looking at Arkee.

Crystal's girls were lying all over the hall, knocked out whenever Yoda had had the opportunity to do so. Now, only the three of them were left – and Crystal, of course, but Crystal couldn't fight and had just stood there for the entire fight.

They were all huffing and sweating.

Ahsoka had known Yoda was more powerful than she, but she had never realised just how huge the power gap was. He truly deserved to be called a 'Master'.

"You aren't so bad either", Arkee retorted, "For a man your age and height."

"When 900 years old, you are, learned a thing or two, you have."

Arkee grinned, but only Ahsoka knew why. Her teacher was ancient by Togruti standards and at least as old as Master Yoda. But their view on the Force couldn't be more different.

Or could they?

"Let's end this fight", Arkee said, readying herself for the next leap.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Yoda lowered his sabre in response.

"Over, this fight is", he simply declared and turned it off, "Leave, I will."

Ahsoka gawked at Yoda, as did Arkee and Barriss.

"Wait … what?!"

She hesitantly lowered her own sabre.

"Fought a long time, we have", Yoda said, "Tired, I am, and no longer convinced that right this is."

He pointed at Arkee with his turned-off sabre.

"In you, a lot of anger, there is", he said, "Passed on that anger to your pupil, you have, but unsure I have become, whether a Sith is what you are. But a dangerous path, you walk. Meditate on this, I must."

He turned to Ahsoka.

"And right you are", he admitted, "If caught again, your friend is, executed, she will be. Accept that, I will not."

"Does ...", Barriss hesitantly spoke up, "D-does that mean you'll forgive me?"

"No", Yoda said and he let that no hang in the room for a moment.

"Killed a lot of innocents, you have. Forgive that, I will not."

Barriss let her head hang a bit.

"But", Yoda continued, "Stay dead, your victims do, whether you live or die. No purpose, your death would serve. And no longer a threat, you are, hm?"

"There's no purpose in my staying alive either", Barriss said weakly, "I failed. The Jedi will remain the corrupt warmongers for the Republic they have become."

"Unhappy with the war, I am", Yoda insisted, "But purpose there is, in your survival."

He pointed at Ahsoka.

"Need your protection, your friend will."

"Yes … protection from assassins _you_ sent", Ahsoka mumbled.

"Done such a thing, I have not."

Yoda sighed.

"But hear me, you do not. Clouded, your judgement has become. Stubborn, no longer willing to listen to me, you are."

He looked at Barriss again.

"Protect her, you will?"

"With my life."

Yoda smiled, then looked at Crystal who had silently walked closer during their exchange.

"A passionate girl, you are", Yoda said, "But promise you, I do, no need to shoot me, there is."

Ahsoka turned around and saw that Crystal was pointing a small blaster pistol at Yoda.

"Maybe not", Crystal said, not lowering her weapon, "But I'm tempted to shoot you anyway, just to be sure. Don't try anything funny, _wizard_. You _will_ leave, this time, and before I change my mind or I _will_ shoot you."

"Crystal!", Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Ahsoka, you and Barriss know him, it's affecting your judgement", her Chiss friend said without lowering her weapon or looking away from Yoda, "I don't know him and I don't care if I have to shoot him. I can't let him take either of you and he knows too much. The smart thing would be to shoot him."

Arkee chuckled.

"Your father's raised a fine girl", she said and turned off her sabre – which, a bit more hesitantly, Ahsoka and Barriss did as well – then looked at Yoda again, "I must admit I'm impressed, Master … _Yoda_ , wasn't it? I had not expected for this to end with both our heads attached to their bodies."

Yoda smiled and hung his own sabre onto his belt.

"And not expected, have I, that accept my offer, you would."

Ahsoka saw him relax as he levitated his old stick back into his hand. He had never let his guard down, she noticed, not until now.

Yoda leaned onto his stick, looked at Ahsoka, then back at Arkee.

"Good care, do take, of your young wife", he said.

Surprise flickered over Arkee's face, then the pale Anzat grinned.

"Impressive indeed."

Ahsoka, on the other hand, felt heat shoot to her head.

He _knew_.

Of course he knew. The Jedi don't _teach_ how to pull images from others people's minds, like Arkee had taught her, but nobody stops them from _learning_ it on their own. It made sense that Master Yoda knew.

"Is it alright to just let us go?", Barriss asked, "I mean, won't you get into trouble?"

Yoda looked at the green female.

"Big, Coruscant is. Keep tracking you down the way I have, too much time, it would take. Come to make sure Ahsoka Tano was not being a danger, I have; made sure of that, at least, I did. Unfortunate, your escape was. And …"

The old Jedi Master winked.

"When a Jedi as old as I you are", Yoda added, "Doubt you, many will not."

Ahsoka blinked.

Had Master Yoda just admitted that he was willing to abuse the trust of his fellow Jedi?

"Well, late, it is", Yoda said, and looking at Crystal, he added: "And as unwelcome here, I am, need to find a different hotel, I do."

It was probably meant to lighten the mood, but Crystal – the young Chiss still hadn't lowered her blaster pistol – didn't move, nor did she say anything. She just stood there, aiming at Yoda, her finger on the trigger, never lifting her pupil-less red eyes from the small Jedi.

Yoda sighed and looked at Ahsoka, then Barriss, then Arkee in turn.

"Time for me to go, it is. With you all, the Force may be."

And with that, he turned around and started walking.

"Uhm … Master?", Ahsoka said.

Yoda stopped and looked back.

"Er … thank you."

The old Jedi smiled, then left without saying another word.

* * *

"I don't believe it!", Sumia exclaimed.

Master Yoda's surrender had stunned all three of them, but Lucia's blonde friend sounded the most upset.

"Master Yoda's a dodo!", Ta agreed.

Even Lucia – who had known from her own Master that Master Yoda had a soft heart – was surprised. This wasn't just a failure, this was a complete disregard of a threat.

"He can't be in league with the Sith, can he?", Ta asked.

"He … he's Master Yoda", Sumia said, "He … he wouldn't..."

She hesitated a moment.

"He wouldn't", she repeated, but her voice was weak and lacked conviction.

"Calm down", Lucia joined them, fighting hard to control her own emotions, "The Masters warned us this would happen. They _knew_ Master Yoda could never bring himself to harm his former padawan."

But they hadn't warned her how _absolute_ his devotion to Ahsoka Tano would be. That he would even leave her Master alive just to avoid upsetting her …

Lucia quickly pinched herself.

She had almost felt disgust towards Master Yoda. Such emotions were entirely inappropriate for any Jedi to have, but for them in particular.

"It doesn't matter", she said.

"How can it not matter?", Sumia protested, "We must report this to the council!"

"And we will", Lucia agreed, " _After_ we've killed Tano, Offee and their new master."

She took a deep breath.

"Alright, what do we know? Ta?"

"No luck", the half-cathar admitted over the com, "I jumped all around the building and up a few stores, but these windows aren't just blaster-proof, they are also layered with each layer rigged separately. If we're going to get in, it's going to be on the ground or beneath. Somewhere where we can take out the sensors."

"We can forget about beneath, Lucia mentioned, "I checked. It seems all their wastewater is collected, then divided into separate, smaller streams that join the sewers at multiple places. These tunnels are large enough for maintenance droids but too narrow for us. Sumy, any luck?"

"As ridiculous as it sounds, they have some military-grade sensors in place. Don't ask me how, but unless we can completely erase our heat signature, we're not getting into this place unseen."

"Hmm … that's your forte, not mine, but can't you slice into these sensors?"

"Sure", Sumia said, clearly sounding amused, "I need an NT-34 infiltration droid, an exposed terminal, at least a few hours of uninterrupted access, and even then, there's only so many things I can try. They bothered to set up a very tight mesh with very expensive sensors. If they aren't complete morons, they'll be watching who accesses what very closely. I'd trigger an alarm within the first ten minutes."

There was a brief moment of silence.

So … no way they could get in without being spotted.

Lucia smiled. It's been a long time since an assignment required —

Suddenly, the small screen in front of her left eye flickered and went black.

"Sumia? What's happened to the visual?", Lucia asked.

"Well …", her blonde friend replied hesitantly, "I can't be sure, but judging by how we just lost all our nanodroids at once, I'd say they finally noticed and eliminated them."

Lucia grinned.

She should be frustrated, really, but to her own surprise, she was very happy. No stealth, no visual, and very dangerous targets. It's been a while since a hunt had thrilled her so much.

"There's a tailor four blocks down the northbound road", she explained to her friends, "Regroup there."

* * *

"He … he's gone now, yes?", Crystal asked carefully, her blaster pistol still pointed at the door through which Master Yoda disappeared.

The young Chiss was intensely glaring at the empty frame and her pupil-less red eyes glistened.

"Yeah, I think he's gone", Arkee said.

Crystal sighed and finally lowered her weapon. With a loud clonk, she let it drop to the ground.

"That was scary", she commented.

Ahsoka gawked at the blue girl and noticed she was shivering.

"W-What?", Crystal asked shyly and Ahsoka couldn't help but marvel at the transition.

She shook her head.

"I am just … surprised."

"Yes, I was afraid", Crystal admitted, "I can't help it, alright? I can't use that _'force'_ thing the rest of you can use. It's bloody unfair!"

 _Exactly_ , Ahsoka thought, Crystal had been very much helpless before Yoda and she must have _known_ it. She had _known_ and she _still_ had chosen to draw her weapon on him.

Barriss stepped closer to Crystal and hesitantly drew the blue girl into her arms.

"Still, thank you for defending us, Mistress", she mumbled, and Crystal responded with a smile. The blue girl raised a hand and gently caressed Barriss' cheek – a gesture that made both, Barriss and Ahsoka, blush – and the green _'maid'_ seemed to lose herself in the pupil-less ruby eyes of her _'mistress'_.

"They make a nice pair, don't they?", Arkee whispered as she hugged Ahsoka from behind. Without waiting for a reply, the pale Anzat kissed Ahsoka on the cheek.

Ahsoka didn't say anything, but she agreed. She and Arkee just stood there and watched how Barriss and Crystal walked from girl to girl and woke them up one by one.

It was always the same: Barriss touched the girl's head, the girl woke up and started apologising when she saw Crystal's gentle face and Crystal would always re-assure the girl.

Seeing this exact same response over and over kind of made Ahsoka wonder just what kind of a relationship her Chiss friend had to the other girls.

She felt Arkee pull back from the embrace and and take a communicator from her belt.

"Zor, you got all this?"

"Yes, Crahsystor", Crystal's father replied almost immediately.

"Is site Onith still operational?", Arkee asked.

There was a brief silence.

"No, Crahsystor", the reply eventually came, "We decided to shut it down four years ago."

"Activate the protocol. We'll start evacuation as soon as Onith is functional."

"Yes, Crahsystor."

"We're leaving?", Crystal asked when Arkee hung the communicator back onto her belt.

The young Chiss looked at Arkee with an intensity Ahsoka hadn't expected her pupil-less red eyes to be capable of. Her friend was clearly excited.

"We are", Arkee confirmed, "With two Jedi so soon af— "

"Ya-ha-haaa, YES!"

The blue girl leapt and pumped her fist, then hugged Barriss and kissed her shocked green friend, twirled around the stunned Miralan and in the next moment already hung around Arkee's neck, then Ahsoka's, pressing a kiss onto each's cheek.

She probably was nowhere _near_ as fast as she had seemed, but the sudden and unexpected outburst stunned them all.

"Gimme that!"

Before Ahsoka had realised what "that" was, exactly, the energetic Chiss had already taken a lightsabre from Ahsoka's belt.

"How'd you — ah"

The saber ignited with a loud hum.

Ahsoka twitched when Crystal twirled around with her sabre. She expected her friend to get careless and lose an arm or a leg, but nothing of the sort happened. Crystal danced to the large Twi'lek statue standing a bit behind them...

"Take that!"

… and beheaded it with a single wide swing. The massive head crashed to ground with a thunder.

Crystal fumbled around on the sabre's hilt and turned the weapon off again.

"Ha! I never liked that stupid thing", she commented when she returned Ahsoka's weapon to her friend.

"It's — er — good that you're so happy about the change", Ahsoka carefully offered. Moving as if in trance, she took the sabre and put it back on her belt.

"Are you kidding? I'm going _crazy_ , here!"

Laughing, Crystal danced around Ahsoka then hung herself around the still somewhat stunned Togruta's neck.

" _Happy_ doesn't begin to describe how I feel. I could kiss the world!"

A moment later, her soft blue lips had already found their way to Ahsoka's and when Ahsoka blinked again, her blue friend had already danced to Barriss, kissed her too, and was pulling her away.

"Come on! Let's shred this place!"

A look in Barriss' face told Ahsoka the green girl was just as stunned by Crystal's outburst as she, but the maid-lookalike did let herself be led away, leaving a grinning Arkee, a stunned Ahsoka and a bunch of scantily clad women they had attended to just a moment before.

"The Mistress is happy", one commented, then looked at her co-"workers" and they all smiled in unison.

Ahsoka didn't smile. She was still mesmerized by the sudden change in the elegant girl who usually took great care to hide her feelings behind a solid wall of Chiss pride. She looked at her grinning lover. Arkee shrugged.

"She's really something."

That finally broke the spell and they both started chuckling.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to do this!"

"Easy, Ta", Lucia interjected as she let her cloak fall to the floor, "Remember to control your frustration."

The brunette Jedi with the curly hair looked at her now visible half-cathar friend and Ta nodded in appreciation.

"It's incredible", Sumia commented. She too had ditched her cloak and was already shedding her top. "All these gadgets and sensors and lasers and weapons … it must have cost a fortune to build."

The girl with the straight hair seemed to be genuinely impressed, her bright green eyes shining like a child's who just discovered a new and wonderful toy. Lucia smirked. Her blonde friend had always liked tinkering with these mechanical things.

Lucia, on the other hand, had been perfectly happy to avoid that stuff.

"I wonder what made them put heat sensors", the excited blonde Jedi asked, more herself than either Lucia or the clearly disinterested Half-Cathar at her side,

"And where they got them. I mean, these are TL-73Ms, I've never seen them outside military use, did you know that they can use the signatures to differentiate not only between species, but also ..."

Lucia zoned her out. It wasn't very polite, but when Sumia was talking about this tech stuff she was interested in, she was very hard to stop. That too apparently hadn't changed over the years.

Besides, she needed to think.

Original plan had been your standard infiltration, elimination, extraction cycle. With three targets and three Shadows, splitting up would have yielded fast results and they'd have been gone long before anybody had realised what had happened. Then they'd have written a boring report and returned to waiting and waiting and waiting for the next assignment.

Lucia smiled.

Not an option now.

She looked at Ta'aan. The often lazy Jedi with the … unconventionally exposing clothes was trying in vain to withstand the endless waves of explanations and possibilities Sumia was birthing.

Had she been anybody else, Lucia would have pitied her friend. But pity was an emotion, and emotions led to the Dark Side. So she didn't. Emotions were a lie, there was only the Force.

Instead, she mulled over their new attack plan.

This place had some military-grade defences, that much, at least, even she could tell. Problem was: it shouldn't; she could only guess where Tano and her consorts could have gotten them. But it didn't matter. What mattered was, that they couldn't just bypass them the way they usually did.

"These heat sensors", Lucia mumbled absentmindedly as she pulled a grey T-shirt over her head and straightened it out, "Can they detect lightsabres?"

Sumia looked at her as if the brunette asking the question was a completely different species.

"Not unless they're turned on", she eventually offered, and her tone suggested that much would've been obvious to _anybody_.

"Right", Lucia nodded, "So are there other sensors that might pick up a cloaked lightsabre?"

This time, Sumia took a moment to reply.

"I don't … think so", she hesitantly stated, "At least not if that lightsabre is cloaked with the force. If we were to use a cloaking device, there'd be — "

Lucia raised a hand and smiled.

"Peace, Sumy, I probably wouldn't understand half of it."

The blonde Jedi crossed her arms and glared at Lucia.

"It's _basic_ knowledge about the interaction between Alesh-radiation and the bi-positive state of an X-activator. How'd you ever pass Master Kab's course?"

Lucia grinned. She hadn't.

"Oh", Sumia blushed when she realised, then hung her head in apology, "Sorry, I forgot."

Lucia shook her head.

"Don't worry. So … "

She twirled her sleek lightsabre hilt around her fingers, then threw it slightly up and before it landed in her hand again, it already was completely invisible.

She caught it and hung it onto the belt of her new jeans, then looked at herself in the mirror.

Out of the mirror stared a girl with curly brown hair, in blue jeans and a long-sleeved grey T-shirt, the tight fabric of which beautifully accentuated her womanly charms. Her sabre, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

She looked at her two friends. They too now clothed in jeans, but while Sumia chose the same kind of long-sleeved grey shirt Lucia had, Ta'an hadn't parted with her tube-like top.

At any rate, they looked nothing like Jedi, and that was a good thing.

Lucia smiled. _Usually_ , her hunts were rather short. Step behind the threat, stab it's heart — or hearts, if the being had multiple — disappear before it collapsed.

Quick, clean, efficient. _That's_ how she liked to do things, and this job was shaping up to be none of that.

And to her surprise, she wasn't frustrated about that. She was happy. The emotion confused her and she quickly banished it.

"Alright, no point in delaying the inevitable. We're going in the front door", she finally decided.

She let the suggestion hang in the air for a moment, but neither of her friends protested, and after a short while, Lucia nodded.

"Good."

She picked up her head-mounted display she had put aside to change clothes and crushed it with the force, then threw it into a nearby garbage chute and her old Jedi garments were next.

"Then let's go."

It was a strange feeling, when they left the clothes shop they had bought their disguises in. They were moving so slowly through the streets because they couldn't run if they wanted to avoid attention and had to walk. That alone was unusual, but what really got Lucia excited was the sense of … vulnerability.

They were in plain sight, visible in public like she hadn't been in years. And it wasn't frightening, it was thrilling. Her heart leapt with joy, every step they made closer to Tano's lair. Would they be found out and attacked? Would they be able to walk just in? Could they locate their targets easily enough when they needed to worry about being seen? Would the fight be short and boring or drawn out and tiring?

So many questions she couldn't answer, and only one way to find out … she loved it.

* * *

"Now _this_ is giving me some flashbacks", Arkee mumbled, grinning at Ahsoka with a blush, "But talk about role reversal."

The pale anzat was lying on her back, completely naked but with a soft towel covering her. Her wrists and ankles were tied to opposite sides of the padded massage table they had 'borrowed', and she was quite effectively spreadeagled.

Ahsoka checked the knots and when she wa satisfied they wouldn't give too easily, she straightened back up and smiled at her lover.

"You know", she admitted with a bright blush, "seeing you so helpless, is much more stimulating than I had thought it would be."

The orange Togruta looked down into the slightly nervous silver eyes and climbed on top of the pale woman, pressing herself down against the thin but warm and fluffy towel separating their naked bodies.

There, looking deep into the eyes of the woman she had grown to love, she stroke through the long, long golden hair. It was very pretty, Ahsoka thought. Inconvenient to care for, she imagined, given how long Arkee usually took to take care of it, but very pretty. And very relaxing to stroke through.

She sighed. This was bliss. It had been a pretty stressful day, all things considered, so this kind of gentleness felt even better than it otherwise would have.

Arkee too seemed to quite like their gentle caress. The captive Anzat smiled and purred in response to Ahsoka's touches, sometimes pushing into her hand like an overgrown kitten. Ahsoka liked that picture. A big kitten with golden fur and silver eyes …

"Here, kitty-kitty-kitty", she teased, playfully sliding her fingers up and down Arkee's throat.

"Mreow!"

Playing along, Arkee tilted her head up and exposed her throat to her orange owner, purring loudly.

Ahsoka smiled.

"I could do this all day", she confessed.

It wasn't _just_ the feeling of the sleek hair between her fingers, though, that made her relax, but also the body warmth they transferred through the towel between them. Part of her just wanted to stay like that for a few hours, but that wasn't why she had tied her lover up, and there was another part of her, that urged her to action and liked the subtle touches with which the tiny movement caused by their breaths rubbed her nipples against the soft towel. A part that also acknowledged the faint heaves of Arkee's chest and smelled the Anzat's floral shampoo.

Feeling a tiny bit woeful, she crawled further up, grasped Arkee's head with both hands and kissed her lover long and deep.

"But I also want to exploit the fact you're bound and helpless."

The _'helpless'_ part technically wasn't true. They hadn't drugged each other and were fully capable of commanding the Force. Not that she hadn't suggested it, but Arkee was too … _frightened_ , for lack of a better word, to try it so soon after two Jedi stumbled into their hideout just a few hours ago.

Ahsoka didn't share what she would call Arkee's paranoia about the situation, but they agreed not to use the drug. In exchange, Arkee had _promised_ not to use the Force unless their lives were in danger and that Ahsoka could _'drug her all she wanted'_ once evacuation had taken place. An offer Ahsoka couldn't resist. After all, she had _loved_ how vulnerable and shy her usually so dominant partner had felt when she had teased her nipples in the bath, earlier. And though Ahsoka didn't think of herself as a domina, she really, really liked that look in Arkee.

"There are other things I'd like to do to you."

" _Other_ things, darling?", Arkee asked innocently, making big eyes and trying to look as if she had no clue, "You aren't going to be mean to me, are you?"

Ahsoka gave her another brief kiss.

"Yes I am", she said, but she was grinning, "I'm going to be _very,_ very mean to you."

"Oh my …"

Arkee averted her eyes — Ahsoka noticed her victim was suppressing a grin — and pressed herself up against the towel as well as her bounds allowed.

"Please be gentle with me, darling", she asked, "I'm … _fragile_."

They both chuckled at that.

"I'm sure you are."

Crawling back, Ahsoka grasped the towel and, looking straight into Arkee's silver eyes, slowly pulled it down, first exposing Arkee's pale shoulders, then her supple breasts.

Never breaking eye contact, she crawled even further back, pulling the towel with her. And while the soft towel slid over the smooth belly and eventually over the spread crotch, Arkee blushed and squirmed, but the bounds kept her in place.

Of course they'd seen each other naked many times, already, that wasn't getting either of them embarrassed. But the very slow exposure, the fact she could hear the towel brush against her lover's body and Arkee's inability to do anything against it … it was erotic, it was intoxicating and it got them very, very excited.

"I have a few things to pay you back for", Ahsoka teased and winked.

Now standing next to the table, she let the towel fall to the ground.

Her nimble orange fingers touched Arkee's pale foot and from there danced up her lover's leg, dangerously close to her crotch, then over the white belly and up over Arkees sternum to the slightly quivering chin. Trying to copy the way Arkee had done it to her so many times, Ahsoka gently forced the pale woman to look at her, then leaned down and kissed the soft, soft lips.

Arkee smiled when their lips parted. Not the arrogant grin she usually liked to sport, but a happy, if slightly shy smile, which coupled with her faint blush was making her look so darn adorable it cost Ahsoka quite a bit of willpower to not just leap onto her Anzati teacher and cuddle her.

Instead, she silently smiled at her bound teacher and walked to a nearby cupboard.

It didn't take her long to find the small rod she had hidden there. She had secretly asked Crystal for help in making it, and although Crystal had blushed beautifully, she had been eager to help. Still, Ahsoka hadn't found the courage to ask Arkee to use it. Things were simpler, now.

The rod was purple, as per Crystal's insistence, and covered with very, very soft fur. More importantly, there was a single very large and soft purple feather attached to the tip of the rod. Ahsoka wasn't sure what animals the materials had come from — if any — but Crystal had assured her that her girls swore by them.

Her heart now beating a lot more excitedly, she returned to Arkee.

Arkee gawked at the rod for a moment, then smiled — although a bit nervously — when she looked up.

"Feathers?"

"Feathers", Ahsoka confirmed.

She lowered the rod until the feather barely touched Arkee's lean belly. From there, very slowly, she moved it up towards the pale breasts, letting the gentle feather caress her lover on their way up.

"I've always wanted to try this", she explained, guiding the feather _just_ below Arkee's left nipple, then circling around it, "Always. Ever since I read that … _book_ I had borrowed from Barriss back at the temple."

She slowly slid the feather up arkees nipple, and smirked when the helpless Anzat twitched when she teased the very tip.

" _Savages on En'Karum"_ , she recounts, _"Our little Vara gets abducted and finds being sacrificed to a God may not be so horrifying, after all."_

Arkee chuckled.

"Oh dear, that sounds so … _cheesy_."

"It is", Ahsoka agreed, "it definitely is. But …"

She blushed and averted her eyes for a moment.

"I read it at least a dozen times", she mumbled.

Ahsoka waved with her rod, pulling the feather down to Arkee's navel, then up again, to the other breast and started tickling the already erect gland with small, quick twitches of her wrist.

"H-How does the feather factor in?", Arkee asked. The excited Anzat bit her lips and squirmed, but was unable to pull her nipple out of Ahsoka's very light caress.

"There's that temple to a deity that looks human except he has massive wings with long, green feathers and claw-like fingers. Turns out he requires his sacrifices for mating. As part of the preparation ritual, Vara is tied to a chair and the priests use some of their master's discarded feathers to tease her until she goes near-mad with lust."

Ahsoka blushed again. It sounded so silly, when she was explaining it.

"T-then the deity descends and fucks poor Vara in flight."

"I … see…", Arkee stifled a moan, but that subtle confirmation that her lover was enjoying what she was doing to her, drove a smile on Ahsoka's lips.

Arkee's nipples were hard, now, and she was flushed red and trying to rotate out of the bonds, but the way she was tied to the table, there was only so much she could move and Ahsoka didn't have a particularly hard time keeping the feather just where it belonged.

"Nnh … I should never have let you … know …", Arkee complained, "You're going to … drive me crazy."

Ahsoka leaned down and kissed the struggling white woman.

"Just a little bit", she said with a smirk.

Arkee grinned, then turned towards the ceiling.

"Room service, give us some sensual music", she commanded to nobody in particular, and moments later, a slow, ethereal melody was hovering through the room. Combined with the many drums, it sounded rather exotic. Ahsoka liked it.

She pulled the feather all the way down Arkee's belly and flicked it over the spread Anzat's exposed clit.

"Ah!"

Arkee gritted her teeth and managed to hold back all but that first exclamation, but she twitched and kept twitching while Ahsoka flicked the feather over her lover's clit; once, twice, many times more, and when thereafter, she moved her feathers back up the quivering white belly towards her lover's breasts again, Arkee was giggling.

"No!", she squealed and playfully tugged at the ropes, "I don't want to be sacrificed!"

The smiling Anzat twitched when the very soft feather slowly brushed over her hard nipples.

"I — I feel strange, already! Save me, darling!"

Ahsoka grinned and let the feather circle around the erect buds a few times, then moved it all the way up her lover's throat. Putting the rod against Arkee's cheek, she made her pale offering look at her. The silver eyes were glowing with joy and for a moment, Ahsoka completely forgot what she had wanted to say and just gazed at the white female.

"Er — ahem", she collected herself before she continued with a mischievous voice, "Shhh, my love, it's alright. It'll all be over soon."

"Nooo …. "

Arkee twisted and turned when the feather slowly crawled down her sternum and down her belly, past her navel. Gradually closing in on the one most sensitive spot in the female anatomy.

"Please", she begged, looking at Ahsoka, "Please don't do this, darling! Please! What have I done to — "

The begging sacrifice gasped when the feather found its target.

"D-darling …", she managed, then gasped again.

"All hail our glorious Goddess", Ahsoka intoned, "All hail our merciful Goddess."

"Please! I love you darling! Help me!"

Ahsoka wiggled the feather from side to side, adding a bit more speed to the long, light barbs. Arkee yerked, then closed her eyes and bit her lip before she started pushing her hips up and down as much as the bonds allowed, effectively trying to hump the feather.

"Oh?"

Ahsoka grinned and lifted the feather _just_ out of reach for Arkee.

"Do you want to be sacrificed, now?"

"N-no …"

Arkee strained against the bonds, but she couldn't press her crotch up far enough to touch the feather.

Finally giving up, she relaxed and looked up at Ahsoka. But just when she opened her mouth to protest, Ahsoka lowered the feather again and gave the unsuspecting clit a few nice long strokes.

Taken by surprise, her teacher lost her words and just stared at her, her mouth still open in a silent moan. This was fun.

"No?", she asked and climbed onto the table, lying down next to Arkee — which was a bit challenging, given how narrow the darn table was. Carefully so as to not touch her lover's crotch, she slipped a leg over Arkee's and then pressed herself against her. Arkee's skin was warm and smooth and a bit slippery from sweat, too. Ahsoka snuggled against her as tightly as she could. She slipped down a bit so she could rest her head on her lover's soft breast, and cuddling like that she looked up at her victim.

"I think you're lying to me", she teased.

She let her sharp teeth scrape over the smooth pale skin beneath her and carefully dragged them over the very hard little nipple, one by one, and she was delighted in the tiny shudders that teased out of her Anzati sacrifice.

"Are you lying to me?"

The pale Anzat didn't reply right away. Instead, Arkee twisted in a fruitless attempt to escape the pointy teeth and more importantly, the warm and wet tongue that followed tem.

"M-maybe a little bit", she finally admitted, then gasped when Ahsoka carefully bit her nipple, "Ah! D-darling!"

Ahsoka nibbled on the sweaty gummy in her mouth and started using the feather to tease her other nipple.

"Hhhhh …", Arkee exhaled forcefully, " … hhhhh …"

"Hmmm", Ahsoka hummed.

She liked it. Arkee's breaths were deep and powerful and they pushed her head up and down in rhythmical motions.

And deep in that soft chest, she could feel her lover's heartbeat grow quicker. Just a bit, and a bit more, and a bit more.

It was an intoxicating rhythm. She tried moving her tongue in sync with it.

 _Badump,_ down the underside.

 _Badump,_ back up to the tip.

 _Badump_ , slowly around the areola.

 _Badump,_ and suck, and suck, and suck a bit harder ...

Before she knew it, Arkee was squirming beneath her.

Her Anzati teacher even tried rubbing her crotch against Ahsoka's leg — a stunt which the orange Togruta made sure her sacrifice could not pull off-

"S-sacrifice me,already!", her frustrated victim gasped, "D-do you h-have any … "

She bit her lip, then moaned before she continued.

"Any idea h-how crazy you're driving me with these ... light touches?"

"No clue", Ahsoka admitted, wiggling the feather a bit faster, "But I intend to drive you even crazier."

Arkee tensed up and gritted her teeth, but Ahsoka bit her nipple and the sudden stimulus made her gasp. That gasp became a moan and that moan became many, each hotter than the one before.

"You're a … devil", the twisting white female breathed into the air.

Her nipple was quivering, her breaths were deep but quick and Ahsoka could feel her lover inch closer and closer to that precarious edge between sanity and a mind-wreck they had pushed each other over so many times, these past few months.

She loved these gasps, she loved the begging glint in her lover's eyes, the unspoken plea in her moans.

 _Go harder, darling! Push me over that edge! Make this torture stop!_

There was a desperation in these heartbeats, an urgency that screamed to her, a want, a need unloading itself in the quiver that was taking hold of her … her wife. A silent cry for release.

And it was within Ahsoka's power to grant that release … or deny it.

"No", she simply said, replacing her tongue with her fingers for a moment, "Not a devil."

She caressed the tip of Arkee's nipple very lightly, barely even touching her, and Arkee tensed up, her beautiful back arched as she pushed against her orange pupil, all these strong Anzati muscles she usually hid behind her sleek figure stood at attention and waited, and waited, and waited for that last push.

Ahsoka sped up her caress, both with her finger and the feather, and just looked at her pale lover. She was beautiful.

"My Goddess", the blonde sacrifice gasped, then her whole body started shaking.

"Uh! Fuuh! Hn… Ah!"

Ahsoka held her tightly. It was a bit like riding a wild beast. Although bound, Arkee bucked and moaned and shook and groaned. Her eyes lacked focus, her breath escaped in powerful sighs and her body kept quivering.

"Well?", Ahsoka asked when the beast had quieted down, "Not so bad, being a sacrifice, is it?"

Arkee smiled weakly, still a bit out of breath.

"No … not bad at all … but these ropes …"

They undid themselves with a simple push in the force, and an instant later, pale arms closed around Ahsoka and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It was very hard to keep my promise", Arkee admitted, "I really, really wanted to just get free and rub myself against you."

"I know."

Ahsoka slipped up a bit and kissed her lover.

"Now that we've completed the preparation ritual, want to get to the rubbing part?"

Arkee's eyes widened in surprise, then she let go of the orange teen and raised her arms over her head, pushing her body up against Ahsoka's.

"Whatever my Goddess commands", she teased.

* * *

"I'm moving up a level", Lucia announced to her comrades.

They were kneeling on the ground of the small room they had rented for the night, facing each other. Their eyes were closed in meditation, and they each had one hand raised in front of them connecting their consciousness to the others'.

"Following", Sumia commented.

"Following", Ta'aan agreed.

This was probably the most efficient way to search for Tano. It was slow and it required concentration and cooperation, but it sure beat sneaking around, especially when they couldn't rely on the force to keep themselves hidden without triggering an alarm.

Offee had been easy to locate. She and that blue girl were wandering around, seemingly at random, destroying furniture and ornaments — like that strangely beheaded statue that had greeted them when they first set foot into this place.

Keeping track of _them_ was easy.

"Moving up a level", Lucia announced again, and again the other two confirmed the shift in attention.

So far, however, Tano and her master had eluded their sight. Which wasn't that surprising when taking into account how much bigger this place was than it had seemed from outside.

Still, Lucia was more than a little bit impatient, and she scolded herself for that.

"Moving up a level."

But what worried her the most, was that basement.

It felt horribly dark and even with all three of their minds combined, they had not been able to tell just what exactly was giving off that dark side stench, but if anything, it was further proof of Tano's fall and the malice of her master's.

"Moving up a level."

And this irritated Lucia.

Somebody as powerful as Master Yoda _must_ have felt this the moment he set foot into this … _establishment_. And yet he chose not to do anything.

Lucia had never doubted their Masters. They were powerful Jedi, strong in the Force and devoted to the Light, but Master Yoda was supposed to be even stronger, rumoured to be the most powerful Jedi in centuries. Was it really possible for somebody so immersed in the force to be so … corrupt?

She shook her head.

No point in second-guessing herself. They had seen him fail only hours before. What more proof did she need? Failing to believe what she saw simply because she didn't _want_ it to be true was unworthy of a Jedi. Yoda had failed, they would not.

Just as she had thought that, she touched a consciousness

"There you are …", she mumbled.

"And her Master", Sumia agreed, "What are they …"

"Oooh, that looks fancy", Ta exclaimed.

"Ta!"

Their connection was abruptly severed and when Lucia opened her eyes, Sumia was staring daggers at Ta'aan.

"You're a Jedi", the blonde stated, her eyes screaming murder.

"Easy, Sumy", their nervous half-cathar friend tried to calm the furious green eyes, "Just a joke."

"Sumia", Lucia tried to sound calming, "Remember: there — "

" — are no emotions, there is only the force", Sumia dutifully interrupted, then hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry, I should have more control over such base feelings."

"No harm done", Lucia shrugged, "Let's concentrate on our mission."

"So, we're finally taking them out?"

Ta'aan's voice was loaded with excitement.

"Yes", Lucia agreed. She probably should've scolded Ta for that outburst, but she couldn't deny she was also feeling excited.

"Yeah!"

The half-cathar leapt up and pumped her fist.

"Sumia", Lucia asked their decidedly calmer blonde friend, "Offee is with that blue girl and a number of other girls. It's possible they're the same kind that attacked Master Yoda. Will that be a problem?"

"No", Sumia answered coldly, "I refuse to be as weak as Master Yoda. I'm sending Offee to the Force. If they try to stop me, they will share her fate."

Lucia nodded.

"Remember, though, the masters wish to avoid civilian casualties. Try to get rid of Offee before the others can become an issue."

Sumia hesitated for a moment, then nodded her agreement.

"Ta, I haven't felt anybody else on that top level so we shouldn't have to worry about civilians, but that thing you use as a lightsabre is inconveniently clunky when you carry it on your belt. Make sure you don't knock anything over."

"Hey, don't worry", Ta protested, "We may not usually need to show ourselves, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to properly conceal my weapon."

She gently patted the invisible bulge on her belt.

Lucia nodded again.

"May the Force guide our blades."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

Ugh, I failed. I let you all wait WAY too long for that next chapter.

Really sorry about this. It's been a busy year, for me, and I was constantly telling myself "I'll do that soon."

"Soon" became "next week", next week became "next month" and ... well, here we are.

But don't worry, I'm not dead, I've not given up on this story and my new year's resolution is to update this story a lot more frequently, in the new year.

Thanks for being so patient. I hope you at least enjoyed this new chapter.

Let me know if/what you liked about the chapter and/or what you thought could be improved.

Note that I cannot reply on reviews written as "Guest", but if you're too shy to leave a review with your username posted next to it, you can always PM me.

I wish you all a happy new year and hope to see you more frequently. ^^


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